Naruto: Broken Mirrors
by Manatheron
Summary: A collection of Naruto Story Fragments that have been trickling through my mind for far too long.
1. Ruins of Reality

The Ruins of Reality:

Naruto bit back a moan as his arm snapped back into place, Kyuubi's power flowing through him, forcing his body to mend. Atksuki had won, he was the last and it was only a matter of time before he was found too. He may have kept the nine tails out of their hands, but it seemed it wasn't an issue any more. With the capture of the other eight Bijju, the Atksuki had done the impossible, they had conquered death it's self, and the newly immortal were well on their way to conquering the world.

_It has to be here, I know it's here somewhere_

Naruto stumbled, and behind him he could hear the Trekidites baying for his blood. Pein had taken to his new powers in unexpected ways, twisting the forces of the universe, creating monsters from animals, demons from people. Faster, Smarter, Harder to kill, and all subservient to only one power. His own. Itachi was the only mortal left, and the Kyuubi the only thing stopping them from becoming truly all powerful in this world. Shuddering Naruto forced his exhausted and burning muscles to move a little faster, he was among the ruins now, and they seemed to burn red under the twisted sky.

_On the last day of the solstice as the final light dies seek you the balancer of all things, the one being that none escape. There you shall invoke his name, and there he shall answer you, and the deal shall be struck again, as it was of old. _

_Beware yea the deal, for what was lost cannot be regained and the deal once struck cannot be struck again. Beware yea, for only a hopeless fool would try to pay his price, and only a hopeless fool can change his flow._

_Beware..._

_Beware... A fool I may be, and hopeless I am. So it's time to pay the price._

Abruptly Naruto stopped. Around him were twelve tallies scratched into solid stone, Twelve massive columns still proud for the millennium they had stood untouched.

_Fitting... a sundial, One the size of a small village._

Shaking and fearful Naruto strode quickly to the center, to the print of a hand sunken into the solid rock. Behind him the Trekidite shrieked, and from across the ruin another answered. Naruto chuckled grimly.

"To late boys, to late."

Taking a deep breath he pulled out a kunai and cut his right hand open down each finger, from nail to palm, working quickly to keep the kyuubi from healing it. The demon, finally realizing what he intended poured out it's power, trying to delay him long enough. As horrifying as being captured by the atksuki was, what the little bastard had planned was just as bad... for him. The Kyuubi was too late though, without wasting a minute Naruto slapped his hand into the indent

"Guardian of time, I demand your presence! Guide me to the truth! Help me right the wrongs! I offer the power of Nine to return and fix what should not have been!"

for a moment there was nothing and then the dial glowed, a curtain of blue power raising out of the ground just in time to lock the mis-shapen forms of the trekidites out, and they wailed their loss, three mouths screaming discord, five sets of razor sharp claws tearing madly at the power that kept it from it's prey. Soon it was joined by a second of it's kind, and then a third, Naruto saw none of this however, heard none of it... in his mind a voice was speaking, a voice older than then mountains, deeper than the sea.

… _**THE TREATY IS INVOKED, THE PRICE SHALL BE PAID, FOR THE POWER OF NINE THE ONE SHALL RETURN.**_

In the background Naruto could hear the kyuubi screaming, but it didn't matter, fire burned him, light caressed him, each nerve turned slowly to ash, and his voice mingled with the beast as it's power was drawn through him. The light surrounded him, The kyuubi however wasn't so quiet.

_**No...NO! I Shall NOT perish! It is his bargain, let him pay the price! My Foolishness may have been my downfall, but I will not go so quietly!**_

There was a massive shudder, and naruto's screams became a howl, the agony of the kyuubi's power flowing through him became the torture of his own being ripped away.

_**Bound together, we return together! For the price of ten two shall return!**_

The light was the purest agony, and it erased him atom by atom

_**SO MOTE IT BE.**_

With a final cackle from the Kyuubi, the light consumed them both.

-----

Authors Notes:

The premise of this story is a 'Naruto goes back to change the past' Fic. While he has above average Chakra, he doesn't have the capacity to throw around 'Kage Bunshin' like he's breathing any more. He was 19 when he went back, and at that time his own reserves were at just over Neko's level of power, Now he has 'only' Kage level power, and nothing he can do will ever increase that amount. Kyuubi still lost the most, he's now only a one tail, and like Naruto, even if he escaped nothing he could do would ever raise that amount. The Idea is a smart Naruto who actually does have decent and improving chakra control going back to fix the past, while he can still draw on the Kyuubi's power he can go one-tail maybe once a week and can actually get chakra exhaustion now if he pushes too hard.


	2. Wayward

_This is it, I've just been here to long! I... I can't take it anymore!_

Kneeling a young women with reddish hair looked around, It had been just over fourteen years since her imprizonment, and in that time she certainly hadn't grown to love her cage, the damp floor made things worse, and the Bars... Shivering, she slumped forward a little, and burying her head in her hands she began to cry, tearful sobs that Shook her entire being. She sat like that for a long time, weeping and praying for an end. An end that never came. Lifting her hands in supplication she looked straight up, up though the bars of her cage. Raising her voice as though is supplication she cried out.

" I have Learned my lesson! I admit my mistakes! Just please, Let this end. Let this awful agony that I have brought upon myself come to a conclusion, I admit that I was unjust and selfish, and I swear upon the Youki, Upon my legacy and my honor that I will make restitution! Just Please, Please..."

Dropping to a whisper her voice would have been nearly inaudiable even to a person standing right beside her.

"Deliver me from my transgressions."

Breaking down again she collapsed to the floor weeping bitterly. It didn't matter anymore, nobody could hear her anyway. That was were she was wrong however, Far away through some trick of Youki, or even Kami-sama himself another heard her plea, He heard her desperation... and he came.

*****

-Two years later-

*****

Yawning naruto sat up in bed, Despite odd dreams of late he actually felt quite rested.

"Good morning Keti-san!"

Lifting an eye the fox snorted before burying himself deeper into the now vacant bed. Naruto smiled at the sight, at sixteen he was no longer loud and obnouxious, nor was he short anymore. Standing 5'10" he was in fact one of the tallest men in the village, Beanpole thin and whipsaw strong he had been a favorite among the elite instructors even from the start. Hardworking and dedicated, his happy smile and intuitive grasp of new jutsu had quickly propelled him to the rank of special jounin. He had declined to teach a class however, not because he was unable, or even unwilling, but because of the outcry it would have caused. Even at sixteen the majority of the Village of konoha didn't much like him... the civilian part of course, As he worked his way up though the ranks he had, over time, earned the grudging respect of even the infamous Hyuuga's. Unfortunatly this respect had come several years to late for the former heiress who had been shipped off to one of the more influential families in the village of mist. Before she left however she had managed to tell naruto how much she admired him, and to this day they were very close friends.

_I wonder if Hinata-chan got my letter yet? It'll be nice to hear how her son is doing_

Stretching he made his way to the shower, fifteen minutes later he emerged, alive and awake, ready to face the world. Pouring himself a cup of coffee he walked into his bedroom and picked his companion up by the nape of it's neck.

"Come on Keti, Tsunade wanted to see us first thing this morning, something about a diplomatic mission."

The fox blinked a few times before glaring, naruto laughed. He had found Keti a year ago while on a mission and had brought him back. There was nothing particularly special about the fox, just a companion to talk to, and an extra set of eyes and ears in a fight. Placing the fox on his shoulders he made his way out the door of his small apartment and into the busy konoha streets. it had been Years, in fact he had been gone for almost a year and a half after the unsucessful mission to rescue Sasuke, but still he received hatefull glares, Sighing internally naruto kept a small smile on his face. He had never once let his smile slip in town, and he wasn't about to let them know that they bothered him now!

_You'd think I was asking them to commit hari-kari or something, would a polite nod really be so hard?_

Unfortunatly no such look was forthcoming from any of the people he passed, in fact he didn't really relax until he reached the academy, Waving to Ikura he continued on, much to the dissipointment of several of Ikura's student's. On occasion naruto had been known to stop by and talk about life as a Shinobe, the children looked forward to it as naruto had a true gift for storytelling. Alas, today he just didn't have time.

_Nice to see that they arn't driving him too nuts._

---Flashback---

The first time he had shown up it had been near pandamoneium, Ikura had been having a tough time getting the class to settle down and had requested help from the hokage. Tsunade of course had thought it a great 'learning expirence' for naruto and had assigned him to be Ikura's assistant for the day... Ikura's face had lit up the moment naruto entered the door, Hurrying over he had muttered

"Just try to keep them distracted until I can get another teacher from down the hall OK?"

Naruto had taken one look at the class and then shrugged.

"I'll try my best."

Ikura had moved as swiftly as he could to get help, He knew that naruto could take care of himself, but a bunch of kids? He had shuddered at the thought

_They'll eat him alive!_

Therefore it had seemed rather ominus when there wasn't a sound coming from the room on his return, only Naruto's voice could be heard, and that indistincely

_Oh dear KAMI what did he do to them?_

Opening the door Ikura had expected the worst, scenarios had flashed before his mind of the childern all tied to the ceiling, or all of them dilligently working on perfecting 'Sexy-no-jutsu' What he hadn't expected was to see all of them sitting silently in their seats, leaning forward, straining to catch every word that naruto was saying.

"... Was almost the worst possible thing that could happen at the time, He was supposed to be a lone fugitive, and there we were, sound nins coming at us from the front, and grass nins trying to sneak up from behind. They both knew we were there, but neither group knew about the other."

There was a silent gasp from the class, and a single voice was heard from the back

"How did you get out?"

Ikura's mouth was flat against the floor, in less than five minutes Naruto had managed to captivate the ENTIRE class by re-counting one of his missions. Naruto waved idly to Ikura a motion that was ment to keep him silent.

"Well, knowing that they hated each other almost as much as they hated us I could think of only one thing to do, I ordered my squad up into the treetops, and then told them to blend in as much as possible and to remain absolutly silent. Well, stealth and disipline being an important part of a ninja's skill they obeyed instantly."

Ikura opened his mouth, perhaps to comment, perhaps to question, but naruto waved him to silence again.

"We watched as the grass nin's came creeping up to our former position at the ground level, Obviously intent on slaughtering us but wary of a trap.. Luckly for us it was then that sound launched their sneak attack. They must have battled it out for nearly an hour before the sound nins got the upper hand. They had just finished tying up the prisoners they had taken when I gave the signal to attack, Sound never knew what hit them, we dropped from the treetops on to our unsuspecting opponants and wiped them out to a man, those we didn't kill we took prisoner, and brought back with the remaining grass nins for questioning."

Standing naruto gave them a smile

"And now I need to let Ikura get back to teaching you."

there was a general groaning sound as the class slowly detangled themselves from the web of story that naruto had spun. Frowning naruto turned back to face them again.

"hey, It may not always be the most interesting thing to do, but the things he teaches you can save your lives!"

again the boy in the back called out.

"You'll come back and tell us more stories right?"

Giving the class a half-smile naruto had responded

"Only if you behave from now on!"

Clapping Ikura on the shoulder Naruto walked out the door... Mission accomplished.

---End flashback---

Naruto smiled and waved at a few of the more entergetic students, several of whom had climbed the schoolyard wall and were waving at him from the top of it.

_I'm going to have to get back there one of these first days… Just to make sure they are behaving of course._

Almost as though he could sense Naruto's thoughts, the fox snorted as though laughing before settling down to rest again. Idly Naruto reached up and scratched it behind the ears. He was now walking past the medical training faculity, and he stopped to watch for a moment as Sakura directed some of the first year students in basic diagnostic jutsu's. She appearently had felt him watching however because she glanced up from where she had been correcting one of her student's seals. She smiled briefly, and he smiled and waved before she turned back. He no longer had a crush on her, and as a result the two of them were now fast friends.

_I still can't believe that she married Kiba._

After naruto's sasukeless return, Sakura had become a nervous wreck. She had completely let her studies slide and had taken to drinking. That had been how Kiba had found her. Piss drunk at one of the bar's he attended infrequently. Apperently he had just been blown off by his date who had decided that he wasn't exotic enough. There was an old saying, 'Misery loves company'. This proved true enough, and the two of them had started talking about their various woe's. Six months later, the rest as they say was history.

_I wonder what would have happened if we had been successful in bringing the Traitor back… There is no way that anyone could have stopped Tsunade from punishing him, although I suppose that he would still have been too big of an asset to just behead…_

Turning at the corner Naruto's stride leangthened, and the various people who were out and about instinctivly got out of his way. There is something about a ninja walking with a purpose that make people naturally avoid them, and naruto was nearly to the hokage's tower.

_I wonder if Ino is on duty as receptionest again?_

Ino had taken the loss of sasuke much better than Sakura had, of course the fact that she hadn't really carried much of a flame for the elusive Uchiha since her academy days probably helped. In fact the only reason she had still been a member of his fan club before he left was because it annoyed sakura.

_Pity it didn't work out between us, but I guess that we were just a little to alike._

She and Naruto had dated briefly at the start of the second year after Naruto's return. (A couple of months after he got back from training) It hadn't been long, but the two of them HAD connected. Just not on a romantic level. This had actually become a great boon for naruto as she had been willing to teach him to dance properly just in time for Sakura's wedding reception. That had been what brought them together in the first place. After learning to dance the two of them had just kind of gravitated toward each other in their time off. Ino's parent's hadn't liked it much, but she was a strong young women, and had gone ahead and dated him anyway.

"Good morning Ino, How are you on this fine day?"

"Morning Naruto, are you here for your missions already? You've got a couple of days off yet before your scedualed to work again."

"Nah, Nee-chan has something she wants to talk to me about. Probably another mission intended to build my 'people skills'."

Ino laughed as Naruto rolled his eyes at the thought of another diplomatic mission. Tsunade had always's hated diplomatic functions, and having naruto around had given her handy excuses to avoid them several times as she could send him in as a Proxy.

"The last thing I need is to be the 'Liason from the country of fire' again. I swear the only good things about that whole damn Fiasco were that I got to see Gaara again and that I got to see you in a dress."

Ino grinned at him, since they had been dating at the time Naruto had asked her to accompany him on a diplomatic trip to Suna. Temeri had decided that Gaara needed a women in his life as was proper for a 'Kage, and had thrown him a party. Of course a party for a 'kage ment that it was the perfect time for all the other coutries to attempt to dazzel each other with their best and brightest. The fact that Gaara had lightened up quite a bit in the two and a half years since the chuuin exams had helped considerably as well. Gaara was even known to smile occasionally now.

"I still can't believe that you managed to come to an agreement with shukaku."

Naruto grinned, one of his crowning achievements had come the week after his return from sasuke hunting. Gaara had come to talk to him about being offered the position of KazeKage and naruto had insisted on taking his friend out for a round of drinks. Well, one thing led to another, and before anyone was aware that there was a problem they had a drunken and extreamly emancible Shakuku to deal with. It turned out well however as naruto had talked the Raccoon into agreeing to be nice to Gaara in exchange for a drunken night of partying and dancing once a month.

"Well, he was pretty sloshed at the time, it's a good thing that a youki's words are binding, he can't break that vow even if he wanted to."

Just then Shizune came walking out of the door behind Ino.

"Ino if you see naruto send him right up, he's already running a little bit… Oh! Hello Naruto, Flirting with our receptionist again?"

Naruto grinned

"Always Shizune-san, Always. You busy after work Ino? We could go people watching again? Maby I can even find somone worth your attention."

Ino laughed, It was a running joke between the two of them that they had to approve each others dates, not a big deal all in all.

"Sure Naruto, If you're not busy we can go people watching again."

With a grin and a wave Naruto walked past her, following Shizune up the winding staircase to the Hokage's personal Office. Reaching the top he stopped and re-adjusted his Jounin Uniform and Forehead protector. His dress had changed considerably since his promotion. Of course the Pay raise meant that he finally had money enough to actually go out and buy some decent clothing instead of just grabbing Whatever fit at good will. To his surprise Naruto had found that he look quite good in blue and black, of course he still proudly displayed his orange chaos spiral on either shoulder, but it seemed to work.

"Oh come now naruto, I've known you for almost three years now, and never, in all that time have you cared what Tsunade thought about your clothing. If anything you seem to take care to always look a little rumpled up"

Naruto grinned at her as he pretended to dust a little lint off of his shoulders, but he didn't say anything. Suddenly Shizune's eyes widened

"Oh you DOG! You've been doing that intentionally!"

Naruto's grin widened by a fraction But he still didn't say a word. Shizune shook her head a little bit

_Pity I'm going to miss this one, He is getting SO much better at keeping her on her toes._

"Just try not to damage her TOO Badly OK?"

Naruto gestured as though tipping his hat, and then squared his shoulders, pasted on a sober expression, and opened the door to the Hokage's office.

* * *

"Of course we can accomodate you sir, just keep in mind that you get what you pay for."

"And as I am paying for the best?"

"You will of course get the best. In fact…"

Tsunade trailed off as Naruto entered the room with a poise and confidence that would have done a Hyuuga proud. Stopping exactly in the center of the room Naruto executed a perfect Fist over his heart salute and then stood loosly at attention.

"As you have Commanded Hokage-Sama, So have I come."

Tsunade stared at him for a long moment, slightly suspicous of what this new act was about. Of course the fact that she could hear Shizune chuckling to herself on the other side of the door didn't help much. Not that there was anything she could do just yet, as Naruto had yet to cause any trouble.

" Ahhh Naruto, Right on time. Uzumaki Naruto, Meet Mitzaraku Tomi. You will be protecting him and his caravan until they reach the capital. Once there you will recive payment, as well as your next assignment."

Naruto swiftly bowed, his every pore seemeing to scream obediance and deadly servitility.

"Of course Hokage-sama, By your command."

Tsunade was getting a little worried by this point, but the merchant didn't seem to sense anything amiss.

"This is my guard? This is the best protection money can buy? Pshaw, The kid is still wet behind the ears."

Turning he faced Tusnade again, and leaned over, propping himself up on her desk.

"Come now Tsunade-sama, I may be no ninja, but I am no fool either. I'll tell you straight up. I have heard rumors that you have a Demon serving at your command. I want it."

Naruto managed to maintain his unpassionate Façade, but just barely

_He WANTS a demon Bodygaurd? What the hell kind of freak did you set me up with Baa-chan_

Tsuande however had her hands steepled in front of her, and was resting her chin on them. After a moment of staring intently at the man she asked

"And why would you consider the ninja before you Un-acceptable?"

"Simple. I want the intimidation factor. I want anyone we run up against to take one look at my guard and then tip their hats and wish me a good day. I want someone who can command Respect with a look, who can frighten with a glance. I want a guard who so completely trumps any bandit on size and personality streangth that they take one look and decide that he's not a person to be trifled with. Simply put I NEED this Demon of yours."

He leaned back again and gestured to naruto

"And THIS certainly is not it."

Normally naruto would have scowled at this, in fact he might just set the bastards clothing on fire just for the insults alone, but to pull off this prank he couln't break the façade. Beside's he had been called much worse before. Tsunade just sat there in thought for a moment longer, occasionlly glancing between the Rectitent merchant, and her favorite Jounin. After a moment she leaned back again.

"I'm sorry but no. He's all we have so you will have to make due."

"KUSO!"

Both Tsunade and Naruto were a little shocked at his language. Usually clients were fairly civil.

"This is not acceptable Tsunade. I. Want. The. Demon. If you will not produce then I will look elsewere for help."

"I'm afraid that naruto here is all we have available. I do ask that you don't blindly judge him. Test his ability if you like, if it is sub-par I will attempt to find you another, But be warned. The 'Demon' as you call him will not be available for a number of months."

"Pshaw, I overheard one of your gaurds talking, Your demon just got back from a job, and is on leave for a couple of days. That should be more than enough Time for it to rest and recouperate."

Naruto was beginning to have some serious issues with the man now, but with a suprisingly solid show of discipline he managed not to betray the slightest emotion. Tsunade was a little less Polite.

"Naruto is what we have, and he is what you will get."

"This is an outrage, I DEMAND that you…"

the merchant's voice trailed off as naruto decided that a little demonstartion was in order, and brought up his fighting aura. Tsunade shivered unintentionally, and the man's eyes went as round as saucers.

"If this man is bothering you Tsunade-sama, I will be happy to… remove him… for you."

The merchant glanced behind him, and for a moment naruto could have sworn he saw a look of Pure glee on the mans face, but he had soon convinced himself that he was imagioning it as the man Immediately cowered away from him and tried to hide behind tsunade's desk. Tsunade herself had shaken off her shock rather quickly however, a side effect of having helped train him on occasion.

"No naruto, I'm sure that he simply spoke in haste."

Inside naruto was laughing like mad, but outside he managed to maintain his stoney expression, and Tsunade didn't see so much as a trace of his amusment hiding in his eyes. After another second or so, naruto dropped his Aura back down to nothing.

"As you say Tsunade-sama. Undoubtedly he was about to appologize anyway."

Tsunade inclined her head slightly in a minuature nod as she studied his impassive face. After another second she reached behind her and dragged Tomi back out in front of her.

"Is he correct Mitzaraku-san? Were you about to appologize for being rude?"

"Uh… Of… of course. I deeply Appologize for my behavior Tsunade-sama, I was out of line."

"Yes. You were. Now, I will ask a final time. Is Naruto here acceptable?"

A trace of a smile appeared on the man's face, just for a moment before it dissipeared again.

"Yes Tsunade-sama. He's just what I've been looking for."

Tsunade stared at the man for another moment until he started to shift uncomfortably from foot to foot. After ten or fifteen seconds of that he spoke again.

"Um… We will be leaving from the east gate at 6am two days from now, Please meet us there."

Naruto's face didn't betray a flicker of recognition that the man had spoken, and so after another moment Tsunade replied

"He'll be there."

"Right" said Tomi with obvious releif. "I'll just be going now."

"You do that."

With that, the man hurried out of the room. There were several more seconds of silence as Tsunade studied naruto, Carefully her eyes took in the Perfectly pressed Uniform, the text-book perfect stance, and the clear blue eyes that seemed to to focused one inch above, and three inches left, of the top of her ear.

"What are you doing now?"

"Waiting for instructions Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade studied him for another moment.

"You can drop the act, he's gone now."

"What act Tsunade-sama?"

"The 'perfect soldier' routine, It just doesn't become you."

"Yes Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade studied him again, and his posture didn't change so much as an Iota. After another moment she asked.

"Well?"

"Well what Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade nearly growled in frusteration

"Are you going to stop that or not?"

"Stop what Tsunade-sama?"

"If you call me 'Tsunade-sama ONE MORE TIME, I will personally give you an Arieal view of the city Via Extreame Physical contact."

"Yes Tsunade-sama!"

"OK, that's IT!"

In a single swift movement Tsunade was out of her chair and swinging with all her might at the young jounin in front of her desk. It was something of a surprise therefore when he suddenly disappeard. Off balance, and with no target tsunade stumbled a little, and then whirled around when she heard someone chuckling behind her. Sitting in her chair, his feet propped up on her desk, and with an open Bottle of sake out of her private and very Secure Hidden safe (You could tell because the lable said so) was none other than Usumaki Naruto. He flashed her a grin before he poured himself another shot.

"You know Baa-chan, you really shouldn't keep all that anger pent up. It's not good for the heart."

Grumbling Tsunade signaled for him to pour her a glass a well, and naruto immediately complied, sliding it across the surface of her desk and into her waiting hand. He didn't leave his seat however, and she didn't appear to expect him to. Taking the shotglass in hand she walked over to the window and stared out of it for a while, lost in thought. After a moment however she spoke.

"Do you ever wonder if it's worth it?"

Naruto frowned a little into his cup Before tossing back the shot and pouring another. For a while he just twirled it pensivaly, staring into the amber depths. Tsunade sighed, more and more of late She and naruto had found each other as drinking partners. Even though she was several years his senior Tsunade had found that, Like her, Naruto was an old soul. As such he was an almost perfect drinking Companion. Especially considering the fact that Kyuubi Purged alchol from his body almost as fast as he could drink it. More and more often Their talk had turned to Naruto's Dream of taking her place, and the more they spoke of it, the more depressed Naruto tended to become. After several more minutes Tsunade's patience was rewarded.

"Yes… Sometimes. When I come back from a particularly difficult mission and receive the same cold glares. When a mother pulls her children to the side to scowl at me as I walk past. When a resteraunt politely informs me that all their tables are full even when the building is nearly empty. Usually though It happens in the dark hours before dawn while I stand guard at the gates or am out on a mission. It's then that the doubts and insecurities cluster close, a dark unending wave that trys to convice me that I will never truly be accepted."

There was another pause, and after a moment Tsunade knocked back her drink and held the glass out for a re-fill. Naruto obliged. Tsunade waited a heartbeat or two before asking another question

"and what do you do with these doubts? How do you Dispell them?"

Naruto smiled a little, but it was a sad smile, A wistful one.

"I remember the people who are worth protecting, My friends and family, My precious people. For them it would be worth doing, even if I have to fight every step of the way."

Smiling naruto tossed back his shot

"Well, I suppose I had better go and prepare…"

Naruto shook his head a little

"I tell you Nee-chan, you sure find me some strange customers"

Tsunade smiled as well, Absently waving as Naruto moved toward the door.

"Take care Naruto… come back safe"

Naruto paused just inside of the door and gave her a warm smile.

"THAT Nee-chan, is a promise."

and with that he was gone.

* * *

When the door closed Tsunade didn't move, and after several minutes she spotted a head of blonde hair leaving the building, weaving in and out of the gathered Shinobe and Kunichi. Laughing and generally having a good time. Shaking her head tsunade drank her final shot and turned back to her desk, grimacing as she did.

_I swear this paperwork will be the death of me._

* * *

It was five O-clock, two days after naruto's initial confrontation with the odd merchant, He and Tsunade had found themselves frequenting a bar again the night before.

~flashback~

As usual he had helped the inibrated Tsunade back to her mansion. He himself had gone through almost three times the amount of liquer she had (Much to the barkeepers delight) and was now slightly buzzing. Tsunade of course was completely wasted.

"N… -Hic-… naruto kun?"

"Yes granny?"

Tsunade had given him a glare for the nickname but the effect had been ruined by the fact she was focusing on the wrong one of the three heads she was currently seeing.

"Be –Hic- Careful Tomarrow. Theres sumthin funny 'bout that Mer –Hic- chant. Don't Truss im. Be Safe."

Naruto smiled. She repeated nearly the same warning regardless of what mission he went on, But He was always happy to know she cared. He was about to hoist her up again to continue there walk inside when she suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt with a streangth he hadn't thought she could muster in her current sate.

"I'm Sssserious this –hic- time. I gotta Baaaaaddd feeling on this un."

~End Flashback~

naruto is ordered to do a 'B' Class escort, but it turns out that they were all Kyuubi's children, and they jumped him less than a day outside of konoha. Kyuubi himself shows up and releases the seal on Naruto's stomach letting his daughter out. After learning her story, and hearing her vow he declairs that his daughter (kira) has been soul-bound to naruto. Any direct order he gives she has to obey no matter what it is. She of course is angry as hell about that, and tries taking it out on him when he wakes up (Bitching about how good his life must be, how she couldn't see anything, how her only company had been him the few times he had shown up, how easy his life must be, she bitches all the way back to konoha before he finally snaps and tells her to shut her mouth unless she has something good to say.)

With no warning at all they turned on him, the formerly docile 'Merchants' all striking in unison each grabbed an arm or a leg, and struggle as he might, Naruto just couldn't break free.

_Kyuubi! I need some of your power!_

Oddly there was no reply,

_Kyuubi!_

Reaching into his mind Naruto again found himself in front of the cage that had been built by the fourth to house the kyuubi, and as usual His demon was waiting for him

"HEY! I'm a little outnumbered here, some power would help if you want to stay alive!"

The demon just grinned however and a moment later naruto found himself back outside, the demon's voice whispering in his ear.

_**Why should I help you... against my rescuers?**_

At these words naruto stopped struggling, too stunned to move, moments later an older man strolled out of the woods just to the left of him. The man didn't really seem that old, Had naruto been forced to guess he would have said mid-forty's, but there was a certain... timelessness that clung to the man like a second skin.

_KYUUBI!_

For a moment the man paused as though shocked before asking

"Yes?"

naruto was puzzled, yes what? The man however was growing angry

"It's impolite to state my name without asking a question or giving a response of some kind."

"But... I haven't said a word to you..."

now the old man was looking slightly confused.

"Not said a word? You shouted my name telepathicly not a minute ago..."

Now it was naruto's turn to look shocked... the two of them stood there in silence for a moment before the old man sighed

"Look mortal, I'm sorry to do this to you, but I have reason to believe that you hold one of my children prisioner, so if you will please remove your shirt..."

"WHAT! What kind of Perverted old Sh..."

naruto didn't get any furthor as one of the men holding his arms backhanded him across the face hard enough to draw blood while the other tore the shirt off his back.

"You will speak only when told to worm, Kyuubi-sama gave you an order, and you had best follow it!"

The old man gave a tired sigh,

"There was no need for that Yeshiero, he doesn't know or can't accept who he's talking to."

Naruto was of course bewildered,

_But he CAN'T be Kyuubi, The Kyuubi was sealed in my stomach by the fourth... They are trying to trick me_!

Reading the conflicting emotions on his face, The man gave another sigh.

"No trick young man, although if you would tone down the telepathy I'd be... You can't can you?"

at naruto's confused look the old man shook his head as though dissipointed

"Such promise and no-one has trained you in the mental arts? I shall have to speak to Arashi about this, he knows better than to let such potential go untapped."

At the name of the fourth hokage naruto gathered his wandering mind and focused on the present, obviously this man was a little behind on the times, after all, he spoke as though the fourth were still alive.

"Anno, Grandfather"

Yeshiero raised his hand for another blow but with a casual hand gesture the kyuubi stopped the blow from falling.

"Your name if you will young man, and your question."

"Um, I'm Uzumaki Naruto of Hidden Leaf Village, and I was wondering why you speak of the reveared fourth hokage?"

"I speak of him because I must address the issue of the untapped tallent I see within you. If a student of such ability hasn't recieved proper training in the correct arts then there are obviously problems with the way he is running things."

"Might I ask your name?"

The old man gave a warm smile

"Just call me Kyuubi."

_Oh great, I get the psyco on a power trip_

Kyuubi of course heard him but chose not to comment

"Kyuubi-Dono... you do realize that Arashi, the fourth hokage died almost sixteen years ago correct?"

Kyuubi took half a step back in shock

"Tell me you jest! How did he die?"

Naruto hung his head.

"He died as a sacrifice to seal... erm... You, into a newborn child."

Suddenly somthing seemed to click in the man's mind and reaching foreward He put a hand over the now visable seal on naruto's stomach. Watching in horror, naruto could do nothing to stop the swirl of red chakra that quickly grew from the seal, first twisting, and then completely destroying it. The last thing naruto saw before he passed out was a beutiful young woman stepping from the now dissipating chakra, and the last thing he heard before he gave in to the blackness was the old mans voice asking

"Oh Kira... what have you done?"

-----

Authors Notes:

This was a pretty old story that I've had floating around. As I recall I had struck on what I thought was a rather Unique Idea, They sealed the wrong demon thinking it was the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi himself comes to see what's happening and finds out that one of his children was jealous of the attention he was paying the Humans and impersonated him. I have another chaper part way done somewhere but decided I wasn't really happy with it.


	3. Symbols Of Power

Symbols of Power:

Jirayia nodded to himself as he walked around the glaring Uchiha heir.

"Interesting, Interesting... you say he got bitten?"

Naruto nodded

"Yup at the base of the neck."

Jirayia looked up sharply

"By the same person who tampered with your seal?"

Naruto nodded but didn't speak, Sasuke switched his glare from the old man to his teammate, but like the old man Naruto didn't seem to notice.

"Hmm... well, let me try something."

Jirayia Extended his hand and Sasuke was hit with a sudden wave of vertigo. Jumping up he began swearing fluently at the old man, but Jirayia just ignored him, and after a moment Sasuke realized with a start that there were lines of chakra extended from his body to the man's hand. Shocked, he sat down roughly, a slight 'thumping' sound following his graceless decent. Naruto and the old man ignored it however, both staring intently at the chakra strands.

"Sensei, something isn't right."

Jirayia raised and eyebrow, and Naruto took it as a sign to continue.

"before we were informed of our teams Sasuke and I got into a fight, and after I subdued him..." Sasuke growled, but a brief glance from Jirayia quieted him "I used that on him to see how strong his chakra was."

"YOU DID WHAT?!?"

Naruto turned and glared at his teammate.

"I used this technique on you to see how strong you were."

"I'm going to tear your f..."

"Quiet."

Jirayia's sharp voice cut off the rest of the Uchiha's rant before he turned to his student

"You know better than that."

Sasuke was shocked when Naruto lowered his head, a shamed blush staining his face

"Yes Sensei."

"We will speak about your punishment later, and you can be assured it will be all the harsher for not telling me immediately that you had done such a thing."

Sasuke's shock doubled as Naruto seemed to shrink into himself, his face a bright red as he whispered.

"yes Sensei."

"Continue"

Naruto nodded.

" As I was saying, his chakra was stronger then than it is now. It's obvious to me that Something has been done to him, especially considering how much training we've done ."

Sasuke growled again, but Jirayia looked thoughtful. Turning the the Uchiha, he asked.

"do you know what this jutsu does?"

"The Dobe already told us, it measures your strength"

Jirayia sighed.

"Not quite, it measures your chakra, that is, how much you're producing at the time it's used. Here let me show you. Usable chakra is a combination of your body and spirit energy, and there are certain points on the body that produce more than others. So if I do this..."

Jirayia moved his hand so that it hovered over Sasuke's heart, and as he did the strings grew fat and glowed vibrantly.

"See, the thicker and brighter the strands, the higher the concentration of energy. Whitish, as you see here is physical, and deep blue, thus... that's odd..."

as he had been speaking, Jirayia had moved his hand up to Sasuke's head and was shocked when only a few pitiful wisps of chakra floated off. Frowning he moved his hand in a slow orbit around the boy's head.

"are you actively channeling chakra right now?"

Shocked, Sasuke shook his head 'no'.

"Very odd."

Slowly Jirayia continued his circuit until his hand hovered over the cursed seal, and his frown deepened considerably.

"This then is the seal?"

Sasuke tensed and Naruto, noticing it, frowned before answering.

"Yes."

Jirayia leaned down to take a closer look at it, his hand slowly descending toward it as his eyes studied the reaction. He was a meager inch from the seal when a thread of black chakra suddenly sprang off of it Naruto was shocked as it grew tiny fangs which snapped at Jirayia's palm before it was deftly severed by a hair fine blade of air. Jirayia grumbled to himself as he let the jutsu dissipate, the black chakra hissing slightly before it was completely gone.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

Jirayia glanced at the two boys who had yelled at him together.

"That," his said in disgust "was an abomination."

Sasuke, his eyes wide shakily asked

"What do you mean."

Jiraiya sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"It's like... Umm... OK, you like fire Jutsu right?"

Sasuke, confused, nodded.

"OK, then lets say that someone sealed a fire dragon attack into a tube. Neat trick right? Fun times to be had if you let it out on some poor unsuspecting bastard."

Sasuke, slightly more confident nodded again.

"Alright now suppose that someone, having sealed your fire dragon, modified the seal so that it only released a tiny portion of the dragon at a time. Each time it was activated a tiny miniature fire dragon shot from the tip and flew about three inches in a straight line."

Sasuke frowned.

"I can see it as being useful, but it would be quite a waste of such a powerful attack."

Jirayia nodded.

"Exactly, now here's the kicker. What if whoever sealed the fire dragon had placed that seal on your hand so that every time you used any fire attack twenty five percent of the attack was sealed automatically and sent to him to use as cigar lighters and you were stuck using whatever was left over."

Sasuke's hand came up to the seal on his neck.

"You mean that that's what..."

Jirayia shrugged.

"Not exactly, but it's a pretty fair analogy yes."

it took a moment for what the old man had said to sink in, but when it did Sasuke's temper tantrum left nearly half of the training ground utterly destroyed. By the time he was done even Naruto looked slight impressed at the devastation the Uchiha had wrought in his anger. Breathing heavily Sasuke sat back down.

"Alright, how do I get rid of it."

-----

Authors Notes:

I came up with this segment after reading a seal master story that could have been done better. I think I intended that Jirayia came back to train him right before he graduated from the academy, and If I remember right, I had considered adding a segment where Naruto and Jirayia reverse engineered the cursed seal to create a feedback loop and kill Orochimaru at a distance. Sadly however I decided that it would be way to easy, and really haven't had the motivation to find a proper way to kill the old bastard off yet.


	4. Two Steps Foreward, One Step Back 1

Two steps Forward, one step back: A collection of Mini stories

* * *

"Saukra, 'sigh' your right. I've been running from the truth for so long, But I just can't deny it any more. I love you."

Eyes wide sakura started hyperventilating.

"You're my everything, and I'd give up anything to be with you. Even my quest for vengeance pales at the thought of a life with you at my side"

Taking deep breaths Sakura tried to keep from passing out

_I can't believe this is happening_

"There is only one more thing I need to tell you my darling"

"y..yes??"

"April Fools."

With that Sasuke turned and walked away.

---Alternate ending to the segment above---

"You're my everything, and I'd give up anything to be with you. Even my quest for vengeance pales at the thought of a life with you at my side"

Taking deep breaths Sakura tried to keep from passing out. Sadly after only a few seconds she failed. Sasuke sweatdropped and then shook his head

"Alright, I admit it Naruto, you were right about that one."

Grinning Naruto stepped out from behind the tree and polished his fingernails on his vest.

"What Can I say, I'm just good like that."

-----

Authors Notes:

Smarter Naruto, slightly-Less-Asshole-ish Sasuke, Nuff said.

---New Mini -----

"It was him."

Itachi said as he pointed at his Dazed and drunk looking little brother. the Hokage Sighed and Shook his head

_Surely he doesn't think I'd actually._

"Traitor contained Hokage-Sama, Sorry about the mix up Itachi-San"

and Saratobi died a little more inside as he actually had to say

"Ox... Release Sasuke and go re-capture Itachi."

"But... But Itachi said..."

"He lied to you"

"He wouldn't do that, would you It...ach...i...?"

The space were the soon to be infamous Mass murderer once stood was now empty, and the hokage had to sigh again

_I need to have a word with the academy teachers about their student's gullibility_

_-----_

Authors Notes:

This was actually a one liner till I decided I wanted a reason to put it in here...

-----

---New Mini---

_**Come on, Take her, you know you want to, I can feel it, You can smell it!**_

Temari glanced around again, she knew hearing things was a bad sign, but she only heard this one around those stupid leaf ninja's.

_**She's looking around again, yet another dumb blonde trying to hide her fear behind a mask of anger**_

Temeri's eyes narrowed.

"All right, Who's saying that!"

The room quieted as all the chuuin hopeful's turned their eyes from the leaf rookies toward the annoyed sand Kuonichi. Nobody said a word.

_**The ones who bark loudest are always the weakest, bend her over a bench and show her who's really in charge here.**_

Temari whirled around again, the voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

"Show yourself damn it!"

All around her the other gennin were beginning to mutter amongst themselves, and Kankuro was slowly backing away.

"Who are you speaking to."

Whirling around again Temari actually glared at Gaara for a moment before remembering who, and more importantly, What, he was....

"Ah... Nobody. I... I think someone was playing a prank on me."

Gaara's expression didn't waver.

"Then keep quiet... or I'll kill you."

Temeri's stuttered reply was cut off by the examiner entering the room

"ALL RIGHT YOU BRATS, SETTLE DOWN."

-----

Authors Note:

I think I wrote this tidbit up when I got sick of all the 'Psychic Ino' and 'Soulmate Hinata' stories that were popular about two years ago. The premise is that someone else, in this case Temari, could hear it when the Kyuubi spoke to Naruto. I briefly considered writing it up, even as a short story, but ultimately decided I had enough on my plate already.

--- New Mini---

"He told me enough. You want to capture me and extract the Kyuubi!"

Itachi Paused.

"that's what you think our purpose is?"

Naruto Glared at him, and Itachi and Kisame glanced at each other before they both broke out in massive startled laughter. Naruto was of course confused as hell, so when Kisame choked out

"Th...That's the reason you keep fighting us? The reason that pervert keeps interfering?"

Naruto hesitantly nodded, and the two broke out in literal howls of laughter, both of them collapsing to the floor, Kisame holding his sides to try to dull the ache, Itachi wiping away tears of mirth as he struggled to control his breathing.

"Oh, Good lord, thank you Naruto-san, I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"Your... welcome?"

Itachi fought down a set of giggles.

"Ah, right, on to business. Despite what you've been..."

Kisame snickered again, and Itachi fought back full out laughter for a moment before he got himself back under control.

"Ahem... Despite what you've been informed we're actually here with an offer."

Naruto warily responded.

"What offer would that be?"

Kisame grinned and replied

"To join us of course. To join your fellow jinchikurri in our rather exclusive new village, code named 'Ataksuki'."

-----

Authors Notes:

Different take on the whole Naruto world. Much like 'Return' I'd planned on having some over-reaching demonic threat that the new village was recruiting jinchikurri to fight. Of course in this particular world Jinchikurri were much more common, and all types of monsters were lurking just off the edge of the map. I abandon the concept when I realized I didn't want to figure out how to re-write the history of the Naruto-verse.


	5. Siren's Whisper

AN Prelude:

Yes I realize that some of the Idea's I post here aren't half bad, if you want to adopt one, PM me and we'll talk about it.

~Manatheron~

Note: The start of this should be identical to the battle for wave, please bear with me if there are any minor changes annoy you.

* * *

"Why, why did you save me?"

"I don't know Idiot, My body acted on it's own."

-----

"Is this the first time you've lost a comrade? I am sorry, but this is the path of the ninja, to kill or be killed."

"Shut up. I'LL KILL YOU!"

-----

"Please, kill me."

"What?!? why do you follow that jerk!"

"Zubuza-Sama wanted me when nobody else did and I have failed him. He has no use for a broken weapon, I am sorry to dirty your hands with my blood. But please."

-----

"Hmm... good work Haku it seems you were useful even to the end."

"How can you say that? How can you be so cold? He really cared for you!"

In the background there was the sound of a single person clapping, and Zubuza turned to look back.

"What a show, You see Zubuza, this is why I hire missing nin's. They are much more effective than the usual rabble and none of the villages care if I kill them rather than paying them."

"Well, It seems I no longer have a reason to fight you Kakashi."

Kakashi nodded and Zubuza turned slightly conveying who he was speaking to without looking away from Gato.

"Kid."

Naruto looked up, his eyes watery, just in time to see a single tear slide down Zubuza's cheek.

"Loan me a blade ya?"

"Oh."

Naruto scrubbed his eyes and then reached into his pouch and threw the swordsmen a Kunai

"Sure"

-----

The battle was over now, and after hearing Sakura's enthusiastic cries about Sasuke being alive Naruto couldn't help but smile as he helped clean up the mess from the battle.

"Glad to have you back bastard."

Sasuke's response, while not surprising, wasn't what he had been hoping to hear.

"Hnn. Try to keep up next time. I won't save you again dead last."

Sakura snorted.

"You almost got Sasuke-kun killed you idiot! What happened to your promise to protect those people precious to you?"

Sasuke struggled to his feet, ignoring Sakura's attempt to help him up.

"Once a dead weight, always a dead weight. I'm going back to get patched up ok Sensei?"

"Ohh! Your so cool Sasuke-ku..."

Naruto tuned them out, another tear sliding down his face.

_I'm an idiot. Who am I kidding, there's no way I'll ever be Hokage. I'm always falling behind. Slowing the rest of the team down._

Kakashi stood to one side, watching as it happened. Watching Naruto's face fall after yet another rejection. He knew that look.

"Sensei."

Kakashi sighed, he knew what was coming.

"Yes Naruto."

"I'd..."

Naruto swallowed convulsively before continuing

"I'd like to have my certificate suspended when we're done with this mission."

"your going to quit on your dream? Just like that?"

"I..."

At the lost look on his student's face Kakashi shook his head.

"Give me a hand with the bodies Naruto."

Without a word the two ninja began piling the bodies of the mercenaries up to be burnt, as they worked Kakashi told Naruto a little of his own background. About the loss of his eye, the loss of his team-mates. About how he too had wanted to quit being a ninja after that, but had found the only way was to go missing. Not something he particularly cared to do. He talked about the reason that Gennin were only taught basic and well known abilities. How Naruto could still leave if he wanted to as he knew nothing sensitive. Both of them knew it was a lie, but neither brought that up. By the end of the evening there were only two bodies left Zubuza's and Haku's. Kakashi stretched as he looked at the last two. it had been a hard day of looting...err... Salvaging from the dead, and hauling their bodies across to the boat they intended to burn them in.

"So, do you still want to quit?"

Naruto had been quiet all day, speaking only to ask questions while his Sensei talked.

"No Kakashi-Sensei. I would like to take some time off though if that's ok? A couple of weeks to see the country?"

Kakashi was quiet, the sun was setting, throwing shadows everywhere, and in the low light Naruto looked, for one chilling moment, exactly like the fourth after his first successful fight with the Harinshin. Old, and tired. He couldn't help but shiver slightly at the imagery, and then the moment passed.

"I... suppose... that would be alright. I can give you two weeks vacation to get your head on straight after your first kill. Will you be walking back to Konoha with us?"

Naruto looked slightly surprised and very grateful. Both expressions made Kakashi feel guilty for some reason.

"I... think I'll leave with you but head east to Tanuki town for their festival. That's in two weeks right? I could spend a couple of days there and then head home."

Kakashi nodded.

"Acceptable. I'll expect to hear from you as soon as you get back though. If you're more than a week behind us I'm required by law to report you missing."

Naruto shivered slightly at the thought of his own Nation hunting for him.

"Got it!"

"Good to hear. Gimme a hand with these two and we'll light the barge and then send it down stream."

When Naruto hesitated Kakashi stopped

"What?"

"Could... would you mind if I buried them instead? It doesn't seem right to burn them with Gato and the other trash."

Kakashi sighed.

_Still idealistic. Ah well. So was Minato-sempai_

"Sure. Do you want help?"

Naruto shrugged and made a familiar cross symbol, with a puff of smoke a half dozen clones popped into existence.

"Nah. I got it. You look dead on your feet Sensei."

Kakashi chuckled a little at the proclamation before turning back down the road.

"I'll burn the rest and head back to Tazuna's then. Don't worry about getting back right away tonight, I"ll set the other two as watch tomorrow since they didn't help with cleanup. G'night Naruto."

"Night Sensei!"

letting out a tired breath Naruto turned to his clones.

"All right guys, you three start digging a couple of graves on that big hill just outside of town. You three help me sort through Zubuza's stuff and get him up there."

all six saluted and set to their tasks. Unsurprisingly Zubuza had nothing on him that Naruto could use save for his massive sword. Something that, after much internal debate, Naruto decided he didn't want. It was just too big. After washing the blood off the body and lugging the massive man up the hill Naruto said a few word over the grave before heading back down to the last body. Carefully Naruto straightened out Haku's cold form. After a moment's debate he pulled out a coin and flipped it, seeing the Shodi's face grinning at him Naruto shrugged and began digging through Haku's things looking for usable equipment, figuring that he really wouldn't mind, being dead and all. It was then that he got a pair of shocks, the first was that Haku had lied, she was quite obviously female under the baggy clothing. The second however was much greater. He was just about to pick her up to move her when Haku's eyes opened. For a second he stared in shock, and then her mouth turned up a fraction at the corners.

"Hello... Naruto... kun"

Naruto nearly dropped her as she passed out again. Working quickly he popped a blood replenishing pill into her mouth, stroking her throat until she swallowed it, and then bound her more obvious wounds. He was just debating on getting Kakashi when her eyes fluttered open again.

"Hiya Haku-chan. You're hurt pretty badly ok? I was about to go get Sensei."

"N..o.."

"No? But..."

"H...help me up, I'll t..ell you how to get to our base, I c...an fix myself there."

Once again Naruto debated whether or not it was the right thing to do, in the end the fact that she could hardly lift her head convinced him that he should be safe enough for the time being. Reaching down he scooped her up bridal style, ignoring the weak protests that she could walk.

"Alright, which way."

Giving up on coercing him Haku weakly pointed left.

"About t..two miles"

-----

it was breakfast the next morning before Naruto finally got back to Tazuna's place. Plopping down in a chair he sighed heavily. Haku was stable and resting, but it was obvious to him it'd take a few days before she would be well enough to look after herself. Kakashi shook his head again at the exhausted look on his student's face, But said nothing. Zubuza and Haku had been worthy opponents, but he had personally lost no sleep over them. He had seen it all too often.

"Naruto."

Naruto, who had been resting his head on one fist, obviously drifting off to sleep as he ignored the abuse of his team-mates, started awake.

"Hmm? Yes Sensei?"

"Go to bed."

It took a moment for the tired boy to process the order, but when he had there were no complaints, he just struggled to his feet and went up to bed. Sasuke, looking much better, snorted and went back to his meal, Sakura didn't even notice. Too enraptured in watching her crush eat.

-----

A/N Post Script: I had been considering a _Never cut Twice_ type of story, but I really have a hard time seeing Naruto abandoning his precious people no matter how badly he's treated. I haven't read or watched the series since the rather poorly done reveal of his Jinchukiri Status to Sakura at the start of the second Arc, but I know he has a 'saving people from themselves' thing, and, were I to continue this, Naruto would end up as leader of a Villiage completely by accident.

The land of Wave, not content with just naming a bridge after him turn him into minor nobility and grant him a land parcel. Haku tries to contact him about it, and he basically sends her a Carte' Blanche to act in his name, not realizing that she's sworn herself to him as an indentured servent until she feels her debt to him is repaid. During his travels he saves and/or reforms a number of missing Nin's and points them at Haku remembering she said he has some land in wave. He meant it as a spot where they could rest and recover, but Haku has taken his trust in her and run with it. Taking the proceeds from his cut of anything produced on his land she's begun building him an empire. The people he's saved, knowing a good thing when they see one, pitch in.

One thing follows another, and by the time Atksuki and sound finally need to be dealt with, Naruto has an Army of people helping him from the shadows, and quite a few above average to exceptional Ninja's at his beck and call. It'd probably end with him realizing just how much his newfound nation means to him, and possibly and implied up and coming romance with Haku and/or one or more of the other women he's saved/spoken with/Been teamed up with/ or randomly encountered and fallen head over heals for.


	6. Two Steps Foreward, One Step Back 2

---New Mini---

"VERY Impressive Sasuke-kun, But lets see how you enjoy dealing with my Snake!"

Sasuke smirked, He had been toying with a comeback for some time now and this was just too good to pass up, but before he could even manage to open his mouth A hyper voice shouted out behind him

"MY TURN!"

Sasuke sighed as an orange blur shot past him, and in under a second flat there was a loud 'Puff' sound as the summon vanished back to where it came from. Sasuke shook his head slightly as the orange blur came to a stop beside him and the same voice said

"Awww… I guess he didn't want to play after all."

Turning his head ever so slightly to the left sasuke muttered

"Show off"

and out of the corner of his eye he saw naruto grin in reply showing of fangs that any Inzuka would be proud of. Orochimaru however was staring slack-jawed at the two boys

_WHAT THE HELL? THAT WAS THE SECOND IN COMMAND!_

_-----_

Authors Notes:

This was a chunk I wrote for a potential fic where both Naruto and Sasuke got sent back in time. Didn't really feel like writing the rest of it though.

---New Mini---

"DUCK!!"

yelled out Kakashi, followed by a giant sword flying over their heads with a seemly nonchalant look Naruto reached up and grabbed the huge sword by it's handle bringing it to a complete stop.

"Hmm…. Interesting. Mist steel, tempered in volcanic ash mixed with chakra, seawater and… My my my… the blood of the creater."

Experimentally he swung it a few times and tried pouring a little chakra into it causing the blade to glow briefly. With a suddenly disgusted look on his face he tossed it over his shoulder. The other members of his team sweatdropping as it stuck into the tree behind him right next to the face of a shocked Zubuza who had been stupefied at how easily the blonde had divined the secrets of his sword. Naruto acted as though he didn't notice the man there.

"It's also unfinished, and poorly balanced. The handle is makeshift at best, the bonding isn't complete, and the runes which create the chakra paths for the enhancements are sloppy. Three out of five points at best, and not worth my time unless I want a fixer upper."

Zubuza just Gaped at the Kid and Haku giggled to herself. It was the first time she had ever seen him caught completely off guard, and the dumbfounded expression on his face was something for the scrapbook. Quietly Haku pulled out her camera and snapped a couple of pictures.

_Priceless._

---Later On---_  
_

"By the way, I'm a boy"

Haku waited for the sound of someone falling which always seemed to occur when she said that, she was shocked therefore when instead of the sound of a body falling a pair of arms reached around her and slowly trailed down the front her shirt causing her face to heat up. Just before she reacted to the pervert however a voice whispered in her ear.

"You shouldn't lie Haku-chan, especially when your scent gives you away immediately."

Before she could react she felt a soft pair of lips on her cheek.

"Tell Zubuza to get well soon, I'm going to want a re-match."

Haku almost fainted at the contact. It was the first time in her life she could recall anyone treating her in such a manner, and as much as she wanted to be mad, her body was responding in a way she had only dreamed of one day experiencing, and by the time she had gotten herself back under control Naruto was long gone. Shaking herself she walked off, trying to shake away the new feelings and emotions that the blonde had made rise within her.

_-----_

Authors Note:

If I remember right I had been thinking a Genius!Harem!Naruto fic when I wrote this one. -Shrugs- definitely one of my earlier Idea's, and obviously a hard sell, but I like it anyway.

---New Mini---

Kakashi reached for the bottle of Sake.

The pain… oh what have I done to them… If it wasn't for my arrogance Obito would still be alive, and Rin would still be a ninja.

He was just about to pour himself another glass when a voice spoke up from the doorway to his guest room.

"You shouldn't drink anymore of that. It changes you."

Growling Kakashi stood up and staggered over to the Blonde urchin he had taken in after the kid helped him stumble home from the bar earlier that day.

"And what the hell would you know about it brat?"

"if you drink to much it changes you. It twists who you are, and you lose yourself."

Clenching his hand Kakashi drew it back for a punch. Somewhere in his mind a small voice screamed to him that this was wrong, but he didn't really care… then he looked at the boy again. Oddly enough the child didn't so much as flinch.

"Are you going to hit me? I've noticed that about people who are drunk. They like to hit things."

It was then when the situation he was in actually dawned on him lowering his hand Kakashi looked at his clenched fist for a moment before glancing at the boy again.

"What if I decided to kid? What would you do."

Oddly enough the kid still didn't seem to have a shred of fear in him.

"Try to dodge. People hit me enough that I'm pretty good at it. If that didn't work I'd probably try to run."

Even through the fuzz of alcohol Kakashi couldn't help but feel a little bit sad at the casual way that the boy talked about being hit.

"No kid. I'm not going to hit you… now come on. Back to bed with you. I'll sleep on the couch."

Author's note:

This was my start to a Naruto-raised-by-someone Fic. Basically Kakashi, Drunk, stumbles on Naruto. Naruto helps him home, and things snowball from there. Naruto pulls Kakashi out of his despair, and Kakashi gives Naruto the home he should have had... naturally there's some rough patches, but Naruto emerges stronger, Faster, and smarter, and Kakashi has time to heal and can't sink into porn since he has to be careful around Naruto.

---New Mini---

"Allow me to help you…" Lee began but Anko shook her head. "Keep his pet occupied. Help is on its way."

Anko was about to perform a suicide jutsu, but Orochimaru melted revealing a mud clone.

"Poor Anko, not able to fight your own battles? How weak you've become."

Anko snorted.

"Coming from you, that's a compliment. And I've learned the value of friendship and teamwork." She looked up. "Right brats?"

"You think I'm going to fall for such an obvious tri…"

"RASENGAN!!!"

Orochimaru barely managed to dodge as there was a blond blur and the ground where he'd been standing had been destroyed leaving a large crater and a pissed off whisker marked blond.

---Perception, Extended Version---

"You think I'm going to fall for such an obvious trick? Surely your..."

The Sannin didn't have time to finish the thought as his head dissolved into a fine pink mist. Naruto glowered and Anko kept a sharp eye out for where her former master would appear next.

"You talk to damn much."

"Tsss... Impertinent brat."

shocked Naruto looked down and then leapt back. Even Kabuto looked slightly disgusted at the black slug like creature that was slowly oozing out of the Sannin's shredded stump of a neck.

"You'll pay for this insult."

It was all he got out before Naruto forcefully and quite deliberately stepped on him, grimacing even further in disgust at the green slime the now dead Sannin left behind.

"Man, that shit's going to take forever to get off my shoes."

there was a moment of stunned silence before Kabuto, cried out in an inarticulate rage and fled... right into the waiting arms of an ANBU commander who quickly and methodically bound him and sealed his chakra.

"Well" said Anko faintly. "I've got to admit I never saw that coming."

-----

Authors Notes:

The Idea behind this one is that Naruto has more than enough on his plate without the snake Sannin lurking in the background. This would work well with a time travel Fic, or a non-defection Sasuke story. I liked it despite the brevity of the Idea for the simple fact that Orochimaru doesn't (Didn't?) strike me as all that great a villain. OK, yes the creepy snake-like thing and the body snatching were points in his 'Dangerous villain' tally, but in the end, he was really just kind of sad. More a diversion from Atksuki than a danger in his own right.

---New Mini---

20 Reasons Uchiha Sasuke Hates Fangirls

_**1) "Sasuke-KUUUUN!1!!1!11!"**_

The Noise. If there was anything in the world Uchiha Sasuke truly wished for, it was the peace and quiet he needed to think properly. Something his fangirls never quite seemed to understand.

_**2) "He doesn't like long dresses on girls, he prefers short! No he doesn't either! It's Mid-knee and Blue!**_

The sheer stupidity. It was like they competed to see who could out-Dumb the others. In the three and a half years he had been stalked by these shrieking banshee's they had only ever actually waited to hear his answer once. They hadn't liked it.

_**3) "Sasuke-kun! Save meeeeeeee!"**_

Their Uselessness. They spent all their time on clothes and make up. On giggling in corners, and trying to keep themselves immaculate to impress him with how they looked. If they really wanted to impress him they'd be working out, building an honest sweat and honing their bodies, minds, and chakra.

_**4) "Your the greatest Sasuke-kun!"  
**_

The constant pointless praises. Yes, he liked acknowledgment as well as the next person, but really there's a time when it becomes excessive, and they had crossed that line years ago.

-----

Authors notes:

Ya... I considered entering the '20 reasons' challenge. I got this far before I decided that was more than depressing enough, and went to do something else.


	7. Wayward, Chapter 2

Tsuande sighed as she stared at the man in front of her.

"Ok, let me get this straight. YOU are the Kyuubi. Sixteen years ago one of your… children decided that you had links to this village that were too strong and so he…"

Kyuubi Interrupted here

"She"

"Right, she. She attacked in an attempt to wipe us out. Long story short she loses and gets sealed inside of Naruto for fourteen years. After this time she gets so lonely that she cries out to the heavens promising to try and fix what she did wrong. The powers that be hear her, and Two years later you find and release her…."

"That is correct."

Tsunade frowned

"There is only one problem with that… well, two problems with that actually."

Kyuubi nodded for her to continue.

"The first is whether or not your can prove your Identity"

Kyuubi cocked his head to the side and for a moment Tsunade felt the impression of almost unlimited power, and a strong amusement leveled at her, a second later both disappeared, but her guest had changed, he was now sporting a pair of fox ears, and was resting on a set of bright red tails which were shot though with streaks of gold. After a moment of shock Kyuubi drawled out with a dry humor

"Good enough? Or do you want to count them?"

Tsunade shook her head

"N…no, I believe that is enough. Alright, the second problem is why you've waited so long to visit us."

Kyuubi sighed and leaned back in his chair. For a moment he just studied Tsunade over steepled fingers.

"What do you know about dimensional summons?"

Tsunade was momentarily caught off guard by the question and her response was slightly guarded.

"I know that it's an agreement between two sentient beings with the specific purpose of drawing a clone of a being from one plane to the other."

Kyuubi smiled.

"Close, but not entirely accurate. A summoning contract actually bends both space and _time_. When one is not native to a plane of existence time passes a great deal more quickly for you when you are on that plane. For example, How long has it been since my daughter attacked this place?"

-------------------

A/N Warning:

The following is a massively suggestive Segment that would have been woven into the story a chapter or two down the road. It's rather firmly rated NC17 so if sexual situations (though no sex takes place) bother you, please stop reading here.

* * *

A/N Setup:

Kira, because of the oath she swore to make restitution to the damage she's caused, has spent the last week following Naruto around as a regular looking fox. He has no Idea she's anything outside of the ordinary, and has started training her to help on missions since he couldn't chase her away.

While he sleeps at night she's been going out and doing 'good deeds' trying to make up for all the destruction she wrought. This scene would take place after some D rank mission that she absolutely loathed that ended with them both taking a trip into a mud puddle.

------------------

Kira trembled as she followed Naruto into the bathroom. They were both covered with Dirt from their earlier tussle with the guards. Carefully Naruto adjusted the temperature of the shower before stripping down, Quickly he discarded his shirt and stripped off his pants. Kira watched without a trace of interest until suddenly her body began to heat up.

_What the hell? Why do I Keep getting these hot flashes._

Naruto finished pulling off his pants, and clad in only his boxers walked over to check the temperature of the shower again. Still Kira watched, wondering why she felt increasingly warm as she watched him

_Hmmm… Like a predator, smooth grace, the Aura of confidence, An Alpha if I've ever…_

Suddenly a horrible thought struck Kira.

_Wait… NO… I'm nineteen! I… I think I just hit…_

The Unfamiliar heat in Kira's body grew as she continued to watch Naruto

_I… I hit the end of my puberty… I'm… I'm in heat._

Kira could feel her body twitching as Naruto stripped off the last of his clothes, and almost subconsciously Kira licked her lips, a low growl escaping her throat as her hormones continued to build.

_What do I do? There has got to be a way out of this! There Has just GOT to…_

Kira's thoughts were derailed however as a pair of strong arms suddenly picked her up and set her in the tub. A second later Naruto Climbed in and drew the curtain. Laughing in amusement as Kira scrabbled to find her footing on the slick Porcelain, and before she could do anything she felt warm water wash over her. Suddenly the hands were back, applying soap to her fur. Kira nearly purred at the contact, her body heating even furthor. Kira could tell that Naruto was being subconsciously affected by the Pheremones her body was producing as he was slowly coming erect. Smiling however he rinsed her off, and Stood. Again Kira attempted to escape

_Oh SHIT. I gotta get outta here, one wrong phrase and…_

"Look Kira, I know you don't want to shower with me, but if you can get back to normal on your own feel free to do it."

_Damn._

That phrase was all that was needed. The Youki that Kira had sworn her oath on forced her to resume her natural form. Naruto, who hadn't been paying much attention at the time turned at the slight sound behind him only to freeze in shock at the sight of her naked body. The bar of soap he was holding clattered to the floor, and As though possessed Naruto's eyes traveled up and down her slim frame, taking in the sight of the Light red fur covering her body as he started at her legs and worked his way up. Kira blushed as his gaze lingered on her Crotch knowing that her body was showing obvious signs of her arousal. Continuing up he took in her hourglass figure, his gaze again lingering for a moment, this time on her full and Pointed nipples. Slowly he made his way up to her eyes. Kira Braced herself. Every Human she had ever met flinched at the sight of her blood-red eyes. Oddly, Naruto didn't. Nor did he attempt to cover his modesty as she had more than half expected. After a second or two he spoke.

"It wasn't a dream was it. YOU are the one who attacked Konoha."

Kira Blushed again and dropped her eyes to the shower floor. As aroused as he made her she knew that she really had no right to hope for anything but contempt from him. There was another few seconds pause before he asked.

"Why did you follow me? Why pretend to be my pet."

Kira's answer was almost a whisper.

"I swore on all my power, on my heritage, that I would Make restitution for the damage I caused."

Naruto was silent again for a second before the thoughts in his mind came together.

"You made all those donations didn't you? You were the 'Odd creature' that saved the Jounin patrol."

Again Kira nodded

"That still doesn't explain why you have been acting like a pet. Nor why you haven't revealed yourself before now."

Kira's voice remained just barely audible. As she answered.

"It's because I am."

Kira could feel the shock rolling off of him, and knew that he didn't believe her. She sighed to herself and, to Naruto's continued suprise, dropped down on her knees in front of him and doubled over at the middle, Touching her head to the bottom of the shower as Naruto backed up.

"Command me master."

"W…what?"

Kira sighed again before replying

"There is no way to meet my debt to you. I have met my other debts because all the people I killed had surviving families whom I could donate money to, or clans that I could pay restitution's to. You however hold an unattainable debt over me as I have ruined your life three times over."

Naruto's back was pressed against the wall by this point as he stared at the Vixen prostrated in front of him, her tails laying as flat as possible in a gesture of subservience, Against his will Naruto could feel his body reacting further to her presence even as he asked.

"What do you mean?"

Kira's eyes never left the floor as she answered.

"I owe you three debts that simply can't be repaid. The first is the Destruction of your clan. It was against me that they directed their might in defense of the village, And I am the one that slew them simply because my father favored them. Second is your parents. Your mother I killed accidentally when a stray attack hit the hospital, and your father gave his life to seal me within you."

My father was the Yondiame?

"And finally I have ruined any chance you have of having a normal life as your village sees you as a demon because you used to house me. For these things I am yours to command in any way you choose from now until your death. Do what you will with me."

After saying these words Kira shuddered slightly

_This is NOT how I had planned for this to happen_

Kira really had no Illusions about what was going to happen next. She was naked, damp, and kneeling in front of him, and he was above everything else, a young male. A young male who now knew he had absolute control over her. And if Kira had learned anything from the other Vixen before her attack on Konoha she had learned what young males would do if they could control you

"Stand up."

Kira shivered a little at the cold voice he commanded her with, but she instantly obeyed.

"Turn around."

Again Kira Instantly obeyed

_Oh I hope he's gentle, This is my first heat._

"Pick up that bar of soap."

Trembling at the knowledge of what was going to happen next Kira did just that. Oddly however what she expected never came, and she felt rather ridiculous for staying bet over those extra seconds when he commanded.

"Give it to me and then get out of my bathroom. Don't leave the house though, I'm going to need some time to think about this."

Shocked Kira did just that, before she even realized that she had obeyed she was standing outside of the bathroom door and wondering what was going to happen next. Naruto Considered his options as he turned the tap on his shower to cold in an attempt to subdue his rebelling body.

_Good KAMI, I hope I get this figured out soon._

He shivered as the Icy water helped get his mind off the naked girl in the other room and directed some of his blood flow back to his brain.

_She's going to be the death of me otherwise_

_----------_

A/N Final: Yes I intended to make this a Naruto/Kyuubi (Well, Kira in actuality but you get the Idea) Pairing. No I had no plans to make it a harem fic, so sorry Hinata, Ino, Sakura, Yugato, Fem Haku, Fem Itachi, Fem... well you get the Idea. Sadly I really have no desire to expand this one any further at the moment. -Shrugs- This is what happens when I get bored...


	8. True Shinobe?

_**Authors notes:**_

I felt the need to warn you in advance that this one was made specifically for a fic mocking the abundant cliché found in many Naruto fics. The first part is a little tedious, but I rather liked how the end turned out. This little segment was from a conversation I had with Black Dragon

**Manatheron says:**

you know how so many fics have naruto getting a weapon with ultimate powers?

**BlackDragon says:**

yeah? generally named so'unga too

**Manatheron says:**

Naruto and the other of the rookie nine are ordered by kyuubi to destroy orochimaru for the 'evil genjutsu' that the 'snakelike human' placed on him to make him go mad. To do so they are each granted a weapon

**Manatheron says:**

the final scene goes like this...

And this is the (cleaned up) spinoff that followed it...

* * *

Taking a Deep breath the Kyuubi turned back to his new students, If there had been a weapon in his cache that spoke to them they would have found them by now. He was happily surprised, and not at all shocked to see each of them with a blade in their hand. They WERE his students after all.

"I see you have each found your weapon. as I call your name you will step forward and tell me it's name."

Naturally the Dark Avenger, Sasuke, went first

"The Death god's blood Drinker'

Immediately emulating her soul mate, Saukra went next

"Eternally blooming Blossom"

Hinata was next in line and replied after sneaking a peek at her beloved Naruto-kun

"The moons unearthly light"

There was of course no way that Kiba could contain himself any more and he blurted out

"Cerbrus' Fang"

Before checking to see what Hinata thought of his awesome swords name, Somehow he missed the fact that she was staring at Naruto again. Lee, Getting into the swing of things proudly yelled out

"THE BURNING FLAME OF YOUTH!"

Kyuubi sighed slightly as he twisted a finger in one ear and thanked Kami that his body could heal the hearing loss as fast as it happened. Shino refused to sigh, instead pushing his glasses a little farther up his nose before murmering.

"The scarabs bite"

Chouji, managed to mutter 'The Dark Lightnings fist' around a handful of chips.

Shikamaru was kicked awake by Ino, and he scowled and muttered 'troublesome' before answering

"The wind swept sky"

Ino Looked Victoriously over at Sasuke as she proudly Declared

"The noon sun's Rays"

Sasuke of course was brooding darkly in a corner trying to ignore the lustful looks Sakura and Ino kept shooting at him. Nodding to himself Kyuubi turned to look at his prized pupil and former container. Naruto it seemed was concentrating deeply on his blade however. It was a surprisingly plain sword next to the flashing and bejeweled blades his peers had chosen. The Kyuubi cleared his throat, waiting for Naruto to answer. Naruto however apparently didn't hear him. Kyuubi tried again, and again Naruto didn't hear. Finally loosing his patience the Kyuubi yelled

"Naruto!"

Naruto, finally woken slightly from his trance muttered a distracted

"Hmmm?"

The Kyuubi actually face-palmed before replying

"Your weapon's name please."

Naruto cocked his head to the side and shot the Kyuubi a questioning looking before decisively replying

"Bob"

The Kyuubi was shocked

"Bob?"

Naruto Shrugged.

"It's easier to say"

**-Same fic, a little later on-**

Naruto, having seen it before, eyed the enemy ninja, all of whom were waiting patiently for the light show to end. It was only proper etiquette after all.

"I summon thee oh light of the divine retribution! I call to thee oh relentless striking fang! Heed my voice and appear! Ultimate Hidden summoning Technique: The Death god's blood Drinker"

With that, a bolt of cobalt blue lightning speared down from the suddenly stormy sky striking the ground just in front of him revealing a golden bladed weapon that seemed to thrum with internal power, Thunder crashed in the background and lightning split the sky as sasuke drew the sword in slow motion allowing electricity to course from his body into the blade, and from there to the ground.

Naruto cracked his neck and swung his arms around a little bit making sure to carefully limber and stretch all his muscle groups for the fight ahead. After that he pulled out a Kunai and began checking it's edge. It wouldn't do to have a dull blade after all. Sakura came next.

"Heed me eternal blossom! Hear me my..."

Naruto, finished stretching, began to walk toward the enemy ninja again. As he did he started twirling the now freshly sharpened Kunai and whistling softly as Lee continued the scene. The enemy ninja continued to stare in rapt attention. It was after all the hero's summoning scene, and it just wasn't proper to look anything other than stone faced, slightly awed, or completely terrified.

"I Call to thee Oh Depths of the..."

Naruto Now standing in front of the leader of the outlaws leaned forward and wiped the blood off his Kunai and onto the man's coat just as Lee finished up. The leaders gaze then transitioned over to where he had been standing at the start of the summoning sequence only to see the dotted outline of the missing Naruto. Finding it odd that the hero wasn't in his proper place he glanced over his troops only to find that they too had turned into the dotted lines that indicated missing persons. The Ninja scratched his head slightly, in confusion as to where his highly trained group of challenging but beatable Assassins, murderers, and thieves had gone. Turning back he suddenly noticed Naruto standing in front of him.

"Um..."

Naruto cocked his head to one side

"yes?"

The ninja raised an eyebrow

"Arn't you going to summon your blade?"

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sasuke and Sakura glare as they trembled slightly from the strain of holding their poses (and accompanying genjutsu backgrounds of course). Naruto Shrugged.

"Ok. Come here Bob."

With a quiet 'Pop' sound Naruto's blade appeared in his hand, and without further adieu he ran the leader through. Then, as with the Kunai he leaned forward and wiped the blade off on the man's jacket. Saying to him conversationally as he did so.

"I never could stand the pomp and ceremony the other three are always going through. So I took the time to take care of your men. No hard feelings, but business is business after all."

With that he turned and began walking back toward Konoha as the other three began their alternating and choreographed declaration of their power and the various reasons that the (Now dead) horde of ninja should just give up and come quietly.

* * *

A/N: Love them? Hate them? Feel free to tell me about it.

Manatheron


	9. Rainwalker

-Drip…-

-Drip Drop…-

-Drip, Drop, Drop, Drip, Patter...-

I've always liked the rain. Ever since I was a little child. I don't know why but even the thunder has never much scared me, and the lightning always makes such interesting patterns in the sky. Besides, in the raindrop it's hard to see tears… Yes, that's probably why I like the rain so much. When It rains then nobody can see me cry. I don't have to much any more, I have friends now… People I can talk to with out worrying about them taking my fears for weakness. I still like the rain though. It's like an old friend who will always be there.

Hello, My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and as my diary you really have no choice but to listen to me.

Not that I usually keep a diary, but I have found recently that It helps me put my mind in order to write things down on occasion. For example I was out walking in the rain today. Odd to you perhaps, but normal for me, I do my best thinking when it rains. Anyway, I was out walking today when I ran into Hinata-chan. It was rather odd to see her out, especially sitting in the playground all hunched up with her knees to her chest. I didn't say anything at first. In fact I'm pretty sure that she didn't see me, but after a while I walked over and sat down. Boy, you should have seen the look on her face when she realized that I was there, Man was it funny. It didn't last long however, and when she went back to her blank staring after giving me a quick smile I couldn't help up ask what was wrong.

Do you know what she told me? No, you wouldn't would you… well I'm going to tell you anyway. She told me her dad was thinking of disinheriting her…. Her FATHER! I mean really, doesn't that prick realize how great a person she is? Of course she didn't come right out and say it, no, I had to cox it out of her, and even after telling me what the problem was she tried to justify her father actions… kept saying some crap about how she wasn't strong enough or something… pretty stupid if you ask me. Anyhow, I pointed out to her that she was strong in her own right, and that her abilities at medicine were surpassed only by Tsunade… probably an exaggeration, after all I've only ever seen her creams, but it did cheer her up a bit. Wasn't till I mentioned how close she had come to beating Neji that she really cheered up though. I offered to kick her dad's ass for her, but she said that she should probably take care of him herself… I dunno, women are weird that way I guess. She did thank me though. Gave me a hug before she left to… I've never seen anyone blush that deep before, but that's not necessarily a bad thing right… It was kinda… nice you know. Made me feel kinda weird though, all warm and tingly and stuff… Maybe I should ask Baa-Chan If I'm getting a cold or something. Eh… it's probably nothing.

Well, that's all for today, till next time This is THE Uzumaki Naruto future sixth hokage signing off!

* * *

Alright Diary, I want a word.

I realize that I haven't written in you for like a month, but If you thought that the last entry was weird wait Until you hear what happened to me today.

It was raining again, so of course I went out walking. I figured that maybe a little variety would be useful right? I mean help the thinking process and all that. Well I decided to go for a stroll in this meadow I found a couple of months ago, and you know who I ran into? You'll never guess. Ino!

I mean is that weird or what? I didn't even notice her at first. I was walking under this big tree that sits right in the middle of the meadow, and all of a sudden I hear a sniff, like when someone crys you know? And I look up and there she sits. Unlike Hinata she wasn't curled up, she sat with her back resting against the tree, and one leg hanging down, and she had her eyes closed right? So She probably didn't see me, at least that was what I had figured, so I sat down at the base of the tree and waited for her to notice me, and all of a sudden she says "I know your down there mom, Just leave me alone alright!" and she sounded really mad. Well I sat there stunned for a minute before I answered. "Sorry Ino I'm not your mom." Well she jumped like a foot in the air, but that was pretty cool, and we both laughed a little bit after she recovered, and then I asked what was wrong. You know what she said? Apparently her mom has been trying to get her to drop out of training and forget about being a ninja. Her mom wanted her to find some guy, get married, and then take over the family flower shop.

Well me, being the kind and considerate person that I am, I couldn't just leave her like that so I asked her what she wanted to do, and she told me that she loved being a Kunoichi, even if she was rubbish at it. I asked her why she thought she was rubbish and she almost hit me! She said that I shouldn't rub in the fact that she was the weakest Ninja of our group and that her bloodline was rubbish.

Well you know me (or rather I know me) and that kind of talk really pissed me off, so I got mad at her and told her that if she was rubbish then she should start practicing like she meant it. I also mentioned that having any bloodline at all was pretty good and that she should be using it to scout instead of trying to use it in battle. Her reaction was pretty funny. She must have sat there with her mouth open for like five minutes before all of a sudden she jumped down and kissed me on the cheek before running off.

Man I tell you, women are weird. Well, that's all for today, This is Uzumaki Naruto signing off!

* * *

Hello Diary, I'm back again.

I think I'm going to re-name you, you're now my rainy day dairy, cause I never seem to write in you unless it's raining...

Anyway, It's been like Two weeks since I wrote last. It was raining again today, so like usual I went out for a walk in the rain, guess who I ran into this time. Give up? It was Sakura! I was headed though the park toward the swing that I claimed back in my academy days when I see her sitting in one of the picnic shelters. Now normally I'd yell out her name and then run over to ask her on a date, but ever since the day I saved that Bastard Sasuke I've Kinda realized that It was more of a crush than anything else. Since then we've actually gotten a whole lot closer than we were. I think she feels bad about the fact that I got hurt so badly doing it. Pfft, like anyone could hurt me to terribly with this bastard fox sealed inside me. Anyway I stopped and asked her what was wrong and she kinda jerked like I had startled her. After the usual exchange of pleasantries I asked her what was wrong again... She said something about Sasuke and I must have tensed or something because she started apologizing to me. I waved her off though, I have to admit that mention of that bastard still makes me a little edgy... He was trying to kill me after all, but I asked her to tell me anyway. She kinda hesitated a minute but I guess that I can be persuasive when I want to because she went ahead and told me.

Apparently she was trying to decide whether or not to give Ino another shot now that she's no longer chasing Sasuke. I asked her whether or not it had bothered her when they broke off their friendship over him, and she said that it was one of the hardest things she's ever done. I can't really remember what I said... I think I repeated something that the third told me about friends once, but she hugged me afterward. Funny enough SHE gave me a kiss on the cheek to... What is it with girls and kissing anyways? Then all of a sudden she notices that it's raining and takes off for home saying that her aunt will be worried. I sat there for a while after she left... I bet a solid five minutes for sure, and then I realized what had been so weird about the whole thing. (Aside from the fact she was nice to me) when she kissed me I didn't get that tingly feeling that I did when Hinata kissed me. Well that got me thinking, and I realized that I hadn't felt it when Ino kissed me either... weird huh? Granny Tsunade told me not to worry about it though... oh well.

This is Uzumaki Naruto, Future sixth Hokage, signing off

* * *

Hello again Diary,

it's been a busy couple of months for me lately, In fact I don't think I'd have bothered writing in you again if I hadn't run into the Teme… as usual It was raining today, and I was feeling a little more settled than usual, so I decided to go down to the river and skip stones instead of walking around, and do you know who I ran into? The king of Ice-cold himself, Uchiha Sasuke. At first I was just going to pass him by, I've got to admit that I"ve been avoiding him since I brought him back… The thought of him trying to kill me again is a bit of a deterrent you know, but then I figured 'what the hell' and I walked over and sat down. I know he knew I was there before he could see me, but He didn't say anything for a bit… Probably not dramatic enough for him, but after a while he kinda sloooowwwwllly turns his head toward me, and raises an eyebrow all cool like, and then after another minute he asks me. "Kinda calm today ain't cha?"

Well I wasn't about to let him get to me, so I just kinda Slowly glance over at him, and then I shrugged and replied "Ya, well, Rain does that to me." All cool like, after all I couldn't let him one-up me. He stares at me for a second and then shrugs and goes back to looking at the river. After a while he starts taking to me, he tells me about admiring his brother, tells me about the betrayal and rage he felt when his brother confessed to killing his clan. And then he says something to me that just shocked the hell outta me, he turns his head all slow like again, and he looks at me as though he's searching for something on my face, and then He starts talking about finding it odd how Sakura keeps chasing him no matter how hard he tries to push her away. He talks about how he's actually starting to miss her when she's not around. And THEN he asks… not demands mind you, he ASKS me whether or not I think he's doing the right thing going after his brother.

I gotta admit that for a moment I panicked, not that I let him see that of course, to buy time I look back out over the river, and then it hits me, I lean foreword and prop my arms up on my knees, and cool as you please I say. "It's not my place to tell you what you are doing is right or wrong, but Personally I think that if you aren't happy with your life right now, then you are doing something wrong." And then I lean back again. We're both quite for a minute or two, and then he gets up and starts walking away. He's just about past me when all of a sudden he stops and puts a hand on my shoulder, and says. "Thanks Naruto, you've given me a lot to think about. I know that I've never thanked you, and I know that I haven't been the friend you deserve, but I just want you to know, I do appreciate everything you've done for me." And then he walks off… Odd that, I never knew how much I wanted him to thank me until he did it, but once he did… once he really acknowledged me… he's not all that bad a guy you know. Maybe, just maybe he's redeemable after all…

Ahh well, enough melancholy shit. Until next time, this Is Uzumaki Naruto, signing off.

* * *

AN: Probably not done, but all i'm willing to do at the moment.


	10. One Little Comment

Foreward: A (Very) short oneshot for your viewing pleasure.

Sasuke snorted as he stared at her.

"Useless"

Sakura's head sank down at the casual dismissal

"Hey! Don't be like that bastard! I bet she could be a Kickass Kunoichi with a little training."

"Pfft. It'd never happen."

"Oh ya! I bet even I could train her to kick your ass!"

"Mine? You? HAH! I bet she couldn't even beat Konohamaro with whatever so call training you gave her. Now me... I'd have her consistently beating Kiba in under a month."

Naruto Snorted before getting up in Sasuke's face.

"Think you could huh? Granted she on the scrawny side, but with me as a Personal trainer I'd have her throwing you around like a rage doll in no time flat!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he moved foreword far enough that their foreheads were nearly touching.

"If that's the best you've got then you need some new material. Besides, with someone like me as a trainer, I'd have her using trees as clubs faster than I can say "I win" In fact, not only would she be proficient with weapons instead of that weak-ass halfhearted shit she does now, but I'd have her throwing bigger and more powerful Jutsu than you in under a year."

"Um guys..."

Sakura's voice was quiet, her ego had taken quite a bruising over the last couple of minutes...

"Oh ya smart-ass! I bet I could triple her Chakra pool and teach her a new Jutsu in a week!"

"Guys?"

Sakura's voice was a little louder, but her teammates continued without hearing her

"HAH. Better, but still weak. Like you, and her. Frankly her chakra pools are a joke as she is. I'd have them bigger by at least a factor of ten and teach her Two new Jutsu in that time!"

A mild aura of killer intent had sprung up between the two of them, and Kakashi, who had just arrived wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Guys!"

"Oh ya! Well not only could I fix her throwing style, her chakra pool, and teach her two new Jutsu, but in a month I bet I could get her Tiajutsu style fixed and have her well on her way to developing her own style!"

"Ya?"

"Ya!"

"GUYS!"

And suddenly all three of them were swept into a (begrudging and uncomfortable) group hug by their Sensei.

"What a wonderful Idea! And to keep the fighting to a minimum, I'll be the judge of who actually does a better job."

Naruto and Sasuke took the opportunity to glower at each other across the short distance between them.

"Sasuke can go first since it seems that Naruto is the challenger. You'll swap weeks and in two months Sakura and I will sit down and figure out who actually won your little challenge."

_Unfortunate that I'll have to tell hokage-sama that I'm withdrawing my nomination, but better that then them getting themselves or each other killed._

Sasuke broke the glare with a grunt.

"Be an hour early to training tomorrow Sakura. You'd better appreciate that this is cutting into my personal training time, and I will be VERY upset if you're even a minute late."

Sakura sighed but nodded, as much as she wanted to deny it, she was having a hard time refuting the claims they had made.

* * *

"AGAIN! FASTER!"

Sakura's eyes burned as the sweat dripped into them. This had to be her hundreth repetition of the tree jumping acrobatics that Sasuke said he had designed to improve her stamina and chakra pool while refining her balance... thank Kami it was Sunday, there was no way that Naruto would be such a slave driver.

* * *

Come on! One more! You can do it!

Sakura's arms trembled and her chakra wavered sinking her up to her wrists in the cold pond that she was currently doing pushups on. She didn't try to regain that lost height as her focus was almost entirely on making her abused muscles perform the last of the hundred pushups Naruto had... ah... 'Encouraged' her to do today. The fact that he was still trying to get water walking down was small consolation. She had been wrong. Naruto was every bit as stubborn as Sasuke had been, the only difference was that were Sasuke had been cold and demanding, Naruto was sad and disappointed. It made her feel like a real ass every time she let him down, and so she dug deep and got one more pushup done before collapsing. Vaguely she was aware of Naruto's arm across her chest as he swam the two of them back to shore... she'd have to do something about that... later... maybe...

* * *

"The Crane... gracefully it dances across the shore... no movement wasted... perfectly in tune with it's surroundings..."

Sakura tried to keep her mind clear and her body stable as Sasuke guided her through the cool down meditation. The contortions that he could manage still eluded her, but she was doing much better now, she had even managed to incorporate some of them into her fighting style. Sasuke had admitted that his style wasn't for her, and while Naruto, much to her shock, had indeed helped her fix the holes in her old one. Sasuke was much better at helping her make a new one... which Naruto promptly tore apart and put back together. It was a little surprising to her how well the two of them actually complemented each others teaching style, and both built and improved on the base that the other had left for them.

* * *

Naruto nodded in satisfaction at the water clone as it swung around the bo-staff he had handed it. Sakura sat nearby catching her breath. She didn't know how Naruto had learned the water clone, but he had flat out refused to teach her the shadow clone. When she had pressed him on it he had gone a bright red and muttered about it being a kinjutsu for a reason. The bo-staff was new, but she had to admit that her clone looked really damn cool spinning it around like that. Naruto sighed and shook his head however.

"You've never used a staff before have you?"

"You have?"

"Oh boy..."

* * *

Kakashi smiled at his cute Gennin.

"I'm very proud of you all. You're half way done with the challenge, and I've got to admit that you've all come a long way in a short month. So, Today I have a bit of a confession, and then a really fun mission as an apology. The confession is that the Chuuin Selection Exams start today, and I'm sorry. I didn't enter you."

Team 7 collectivity sighed

"I'd wondered when the others started talking about it."

Sasuke nodded in agreement with Naruto, before adding

"It was kind of hard to miss all the foreigners in town too."

Sakura's shoulders slumped and she sighed again before finishing their thought.

"Let me guess... poor teamwork?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Cheer up though! I landed us a C-Rank. I called in some favors and we're going to help proctor the written test. Your jobs are going to be to keep track of anyone doing a crappy job cheating. Catch anyone five times and you're allowed to kick them from the room. Be sure to be able to back up your reasoning though, because the head of our T and I will be having words with you afterword if he disagrees with your decision."

All three of them swallowed noisily at that, and each promised themselves to be extra careful about their checking.

* * *

Naruto smiled to himself as he watched the chuuin hopefuls file out the door. He couldn't help but notice out of the corner of his eyes that it was matched by Sasuke's smirk and Sakura's beaming grin.

"Well, Well, Well."

The three of them tensed up at the voice behind them and slowly turned around. Sasuke was the first to find his voice.

"Ibiki-Sama"

"Naruto. Seat fourteen. Why."

Naruto swallowed convulsively before replying

"P...poor job signaling his teammates. I admit that I only actually caught him cheating twice himself, but he was being really obvious when passing them on."

Ibiki stared him in the eye for a moment before nodding.

"Sasuke. Seat 27. Why?"

Sasuke frowned. Twenty seven had been kicked out by one of the other proctors toward the end. It wasn't until the 'boy' had stood up in protest that he had actually realized what was going on.

"His team was a plant. I'm not sure what skill they were using to look so young and suppress their chakra, but he had an ANBU tattoo on his left shoulder in flesh-tone ink."

Ibiki nodded.

"I thought you had caught that but I wanted to be sure. I'll have to have words with him later. Sakura. Why wasn't team six kicked out?"

Sakura smiled a little, relaxing as she knew the answer.

"Shikamaru used shadow bind to do all their tests at the same time. While fairly obvious by the fact that the handwriting and motions were identical for the three of them, he only used it once. So long as at least three questions were correct they pass."

Ibiki's mouth turned up a little at the corners and he nodded before replying.

"Well done. I look forward to seeing you in action in the future. This will be reported as a successful 'B' Rank mission and you will all receive a commendation in your permanent record for preforming above and beyond expectations."

As he walked away it was all they could do not to cheer.

* * *

Kakashi smiled, it had been a tough decision and a serious blow to his pride to withdraw them, but seeing the results he was certain it was the right decision. Standing he quietly followed them to the training grounds where they started stretches, two of them chattering back an forth while the third occasionally interjected a comment or correction. There were two weeks left in the challenge between the boys, but he suspected that it had mostly fallen by the wayside. They trained together, they ate together. They had the kind of synchrony that usually wasn't seen until late chuuin or early special-jounin. The best part was that they were accelerating far faster than he would have imagined! Teaching Sakura had helped the other two find balance in both the squad, and their personal lives. This had led to a little bending of stiff necks, a slight and growing feeling that they could let the facade drop around each other. Frankly, he couldn't be prouder.

* * *

AN: I've seen a lot of things in Naruto fanfic, but there are two I would really like to see someone try. The first is basically what i've outlined above. Something causes Kakashi to change his mind before he gives out the permission forms to his students. The second would be Saukra deciding just a bit faster that she was willing to sacrifice her own chances to save Sasuke and Naruto's dreams and gets them kicked out on question 10. I think both would be an excellent and highly underexplored way to start a story.

I don't recall what it was that triggered the inception of this story, but here you have it.

Love it? Hate it? Click the 'Review' Button and let me know... or don't. Your call really...

~Manatheron~


	11. A start to a PL challenge response

AN: So, I came very close to entering PerfectLionheart's challenge a while back, but I've got plenty of other stuff still on my plate. Though several of you might be happy to hear that I'm closing in on the ending to my 'Lost' series. Couple of chapters left there tops.

Also, Keep in mind that nothing I post here is Necessarily dead, just not likely to be picked up by me any time soon. If you see something you want to adopt, by all means feel free, Send me a link and I'll even post it at the bottom of the chapter in question so people know where to go if they want to see what you've done with it.

All the Best,

Manatheron

* * *

"Gennin Uzumaki Naruto, do you know why you are here?"

"I do not"

"Twelve hours ago you returned from the unsuccessful mission to retrieve your teammate, the defector Uchiha Sasuke. Correct?"

"I did."

"Are you aware of sentiment in the streets Gennin?"

"I'm afraid I'm not. I've only just come out of surgery, and I suspect that if Tsunade knew you'd requested my presence so soon several of you would be joining me there."

A number of the gathered clan heads chuckled at that.

"And what were your injuries?"

Naruto frowned and rubbed the tender skin on his chest.

"He shoved a 'Chidiri' through my chest. If it wasn't for the prisoner I would not have survived the initial impact, let alone the return trip."

The room sobered very quickly at that statement

"I am sorry to hear that. Sadly the same cannot be said for the majority of our civilians."

Naruto frowned and said nothing

"Many of them, sadly including many of our supposedly more level headed fellow council members are blaming you for his defection. Some have even gone so far as to claim that you killed him and hid his body to eat later."

Naruto's face darkened further, but again he said nothing.

"Do you have no opinion on this matter Gennin?"

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was the first time he had broken official decorum since he entered the chamber, and it reminded many of them exactly whose child he was. Truly the resemblance was remarkable if you looked closely at all.

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted, of course."

"Not that it would have stopped you anyway"

The smart remark from Tsume brought a few chuckles and made Naruto's lips twitch up briefly into a smile.

"You know me. Many of you have trained me, watched over me, slipped me a little money or a little encouragement when I needed it."

Around the room heads began to nod.

"I would ask you now. Is there anyone here who doubts my loyalty to the village?"

At the question there were a number of snorts of disbelief and a hand full of shaking heads.

"Do any of you doubt my skill as a ninja?"

"I for one would have had it not been for your showing at the Chuuin Exams."

Naruto inclined his head at the comment.

"I don't deny that I've been known to 'act the fool' as the saying goes, but did any of you truly doubt that I failed to learn the lessons you've taught me?"

As he asked this his eyes scanned the room. Receiving a small shake of the head from each of them as their eyes met.

"Then I ask you now. Not as Gennin Uzumaki, Not as the Jinchikurri of Kyuubi, but as your student and hopefully friend; Naruto. What do you want from me?"

"Blunt as ever Naruto?" he sighed "Very well, to the point then. Akatsuki is moving, the civilians are at a froth, and the last loyal Uchiha is pretending to hunt you as a deep cover agent."

Naruto's eyes sharpened

"You mean?"

"He's still one of us, yes."

Naruto processed this for a moment and sighed.

"You need me to pull an Itachi don't you? You wouldn't have given me classified information of that... hmm... sensitivity? Of that nature anyway, if you didn't need him as an example of sacrifices made for the villiage."

Haishi snorted.

"Perceptive as well."

Naruto, recognizing the compliment, inclined his head in the Hyuuga's direction before replying.

"Very well. What's my cover?"

"Banishment."

Naruto winced.

"Why?"

"Officially? Because that's the easiest thing to talk our fellow council members into. We will play the straight men, they will play prosecution, and you will... well... we'll leave it up to you actually. I can't speak for anyone else, but I have full faith in your acting skills"

Naruto sighed

"Alright then.. I'm too injured to leave at the moment, and if I did, some of you would no doubt meet fatal 'Accidents' at Tsunade's command..."

He paused, and the men and women around the room let him think. It was a well known fact at this point that it was better to let deep cover agents build their own backstory If at all possible.

"OK... Here's what I'm going to need..."

* * *

Naruto walked stoically out of the building, he'd managed cold and aloof in front of the full council, he'd even gotten in a 'you'll regret this some day' speech. His mind whirled however when he saw the mob that was awaiting him outside the door...

_O...K... Time to improvise I guess._

"DIE DEMON!"

He caught the brick, and as the front row took a step forward (Urged by a couple of chuuin who were probably under orders to make sure he 'Accidentally' escaped he decided) Naruto crushed the brick to powder with one hand instead of fleeing as they expected. This had the effect of making the front row decide they'd rather be the second row.

_Hmm... fear... ok... a reminder then perhaps... probably take second stage..._

Lifting a hand Naruto formed an imperfect Rasengan and slammed it into the side of the hokage tower, just to the right of the doors. It left a perfect spiral impression surrounded by a blast mark. Seeing this the first row decided that maybe being third or fourth row would be better than second and tried harder to press back against the people behind them. All of whom were 'mysteriously' chuuin who refused to give them an inch.

"Be glad there are still people I like in this town."

Naruto's voice was as cold and emotionless as he could make it. Surprisingly difficult under the circumstances as the faces of the front row of people were nearly enough to make him break out in laughter. He'd wanted to do something like this for years now! Concentrating a little harder Naruto began to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra. It hurt like a bitch, but this was going to be epic enough to be worth a little pain. Naruto took a step forward as a poisonous red cloak of chakra began to form around him, and the chuuin gave a step backwards. Some actually looking worried, some suppressing smirks.

"Because if I didn't..."

He took another step foreward, and the chuuin in front of him made an opening for the civilians to press back thought. He pulled a little harder and his cloak grew a tail.

"I garuentee you..."

He took another step, and the now exposed civilians behind the chuuin suddenly remembered urgent appointments elsewhere and made a hole for him.

"I would show you what a REAL demon looks like!"

He took another step, and the crowds parted a little furthor.

"Rather than the jailer before you."

He paused for a moment and then shifted suddenly as though about to spring. Those closest to him flinched back violently, and he gave a short nod of approval.

"I see we have an understanding. Now Move."

And they did.

* * *

Naruto hissed a little in pain and dropped the cloak of power once he was pretty sure he was out of sight.

"Well played. You even had me going for a minute there."

Naruto glanced over and snorted.

"It wasn't totally faked."

Yamato cocked his head a little, acknowledging the point.

"It wouldn't have been so effective if it was. Here."

Naruto reflexively caught the scroll that had been tossed at him.

"A couple of us chipped in and made you a care package. Be safe, and I assure you, you WILL see me around."

Naruto managed a small grin at that.

"I'd better."

Yamato nodded respectfully and vanished, alone again Naruto sighed. Officially he still had thirty six hours to leave. He didn't intend to need them.

* * *

In the tower Tsunade frowned as she stared at her mostly empty bottle of sake, behind her on a couch Shizune hiccuped a little in her sleep, she'd finally drifted off after crying herself out. The scene from earlier kept replaying in her mind, and though the booze was wreaking havoc on her higher functions Tsunade wasn't a Sannin for nothing. The whole situation stank. There hadn't been even a token protest at the official debriefing and banishment trial, and she had been pissed enough to refuse all messengers from them afterwards. having locked the door to her office so she could get stinking drunk and toast the only reason that... she...

The thought turned over in her head. It was sluggish, but true. Naruto was the only reason she had returned. So... If Naruto was gone...

"Shizune. Get up. We have work to do."

Twelve hours later Tsunade, and Shizune jumped over the east wall in the direction of wave. It was the most logical place for naruto to head toward. The council's scroll and a note written by Tsunade herself were left in the hokages office on top of a stack of unfinished paperwork and a much smaller stack of decrees so new that the ink wasn't dry on them yet... and that was ALL that was left there. The archive, the Hokages personal library, the forbidden Jutsu scroll, and the Konoha fedral gold reserve (which was housed in the lower levels of the tower for security purposes) all left with them. they had even taken the hat. This was unfortunate for two reasons. One being it was early evening, none of this would be discovered for nearly twenty hours. The second was that Tsunade never read the council's scroll... if she had, things would have turned out much different.

* * *

"Tsunade-hime? This has gone on long enough. I know you're upset, but we need to have a word with you."

"Tsunade-hime?"

"Here, let me. Knowing her she hasn't gotten around to changing Hizeran's seal yet... KAI!"

The door clicked open as Koharu released the lock, a privilege that Saratobi had allowed his council for times of emergency.

"There. Now. Tsunade, we need to... talk... hmm..."

Walking around the desk Koharu picked up the top scroll labeled 'Bastards' in bold type font. After quickly checking for traps she opened it and glanced though it even as Homura glanced though the stack of new proclamations... sadly they came to the same conclusion almost simultaneously, and as their eyes met, both thought the exact same thing...

_Well, Shit..._

* * *

Jirayia stared at the two councilors. It was the crack of noon, and he'd just been dragged from a nice comfy bed in the red light district and had all of his plans for the day thoroughly shattered.

"You're trying to tell me that Tsunade wasn't informed about this personally."

Houmara winced

"We were a little distracted at the time, and the note we sent was chakra linked to the hokage's seal. She is literally the only person who could have opened and read it."

Jirayia resisted the urge to facepalm.

"There's a reason I tell you to do things a certain way. Of course she was going to react poorly to Naruto being banished!"

"It gets worse."

"HOW!"

"She appointed YOU Regent until she returned, she also left a box with one of your most intricate seals on it and a piece of paper with your name under it."

"Give it here."

At a glance Jirayia could see she had used one of the 'Hokage's eyes only' seals he had written up for Hizeran, it was so complex in fact that even knowing exactly how to counter it Jirayia had needed nearly a full minute to get the stupid thing off! The instructions, comments, and fragments of half baked plans that Tsunade left inside had him pale, seated in the nearest chair, and feeling all of his age in less than the time it had taken to open the stupid thing. Homura and Koharu joined him a few seconds later.

_Shit_

* * *

"Haishi-Sama? We might have a problem."

Haishi frowned as he looked up from the missive that Koharu had sent him earlier. About the last thing he needed was another complication right now.

"Speak."

"Hinata's room has been emptied of her traveling gear and field rations. Her team is currently on standby and her teacher recently seen drinking with the other instructors. More worrying, the medicinal creams she's been working on in her spare time have been destroyed, and the equipment and unused ingredients packed away."

Haishi sighed

_Well. Shit._

* * *

Naruto froze, not quite motionless, the leaves around him were moving and thus he blended in better if he was moving a little too. Someone was coming. He'd had the feeling of being watched all day, and he had officially 'gone to bed' a half hour ago. He'd actually laid there for all of three minutes before quietly making a clone and sneaking out the back and up into a nearby tree.

_Time to see who... _

Naruto's mind focused as the bulky, dark clad shape seemed to melt out of the darkness and approch his tent. A hand reached out forming a seal, and naruto let go. Swiftly he dropped the fifteen feet onto his assialent's back. It would have been a killing blow, but he must have made some noise at the last moment, and the figure managed to jerk out of the way, getting a nasty slice on the arm instead. There was a scream and a hell of a tussle before before he managed to subdue the figure. He had his kunai to the assailant's neck and was just about to finish the job when he finally recognized the pleading voice.

_Hinata?_

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wasn't going to hurt you! I swear that I..."

Naruto, sitting on her stomach and holding her down took a moment and managed to trap her hands above her head with one hand and then covered her mouth for a moment with the other until she just laid there quietly trembling and breathing hard though her nose

"I'm going to remove my hand now, and you are going to stay quiet, ok?"

Hinata nodded weakly, and Naruto did, trying hard to ignore the position they were in and the damage both of their clothes had taken in the fight.

"Now. Why are you here."

"I w...want to join you!"

_well... Shit._

* * *

"Tsunade-Hime? Are you sure he went this way? We should have found a trail, or at least sensed his chakra presence by now shouldn't have we?"

"Nah, the brat's got twelve hours on us, and he used to play hide and seek with the ANBU after his pranks. I'm informed he was damn good at it too. No, I'd bet almost anything that he won't be found until he gets to wave at the soonest!"

* * *

"The DIAMO!? Why?"

Naruto sighed

"Like I said. I'm not really banished, the council and the old lady are going to use my absence to weed out the miss-informed from the truly viscous and stupid. They figure they can drop the number of spy's in the village by as much a thirty percent as well, and that's just behavior pattern disruption. "

"I don't know. Tsunade-hime seemed pretty upset."

"I know. She can't act worth shit so we couldn't tell her ahead of time. They promised they'd tell her what was really happening the minute her part was over. Three weeks, maybe a month or two tops, and they should be able to welcome me back with open arms... assuming everything goes according to plan of course. That said, they're going to let me openly claim my heritage when I get back."

"Y... your heritage?"

Naruto's face lit up in a huge grin

"You don't know? Excellent!" he stuck out a hand "Hi, Namikaze Naruto, at your service!"

Hinata promptly fainted.

* * *

AN: All I wrote down before I realized that the last thing I needed was yet another story. Hate it? Love it? Let me know!


	12. The Rise of Whirlpool

**_The Rise of Whirlpool:_**

"Ahh... Uzumaki... Just the child I wanted to see. Here to plead your expulsion? I suppose I can let you back in... pending a few oaths"

_And __a __few __more __seals..._

"It's Sov. Uzumaki Danzo. I came to tell you that since Tsunade-Hime has been removed I will be Returning to my Ancestral Home."

The room, almost as one, blinked in shock. Only the two diplomats didn't, as they were the only ones not aware of what was going on.

"Excuse me."

Danzo's voice was quiet, but it held a definite menace

"No. There is no excuse for you. You are a Usurper and a coward, and Whirlpool will not stand for it. In protest we are withdrawing our people, which means I'm leaving."

The majority of the shinobi present either rolled their eyes or chuckled at this proclamation. There were five exceptions however. Tsunade and Hiashi both widened their eyes slightly in shock. The diplomats from Kiri and Kumo got rather speculative looks in their eyes, and Danzo's eyes Narrowed at the Jinchikurri's defiance. Hinata however asked the obvious question.

"But... your dream of being Hokage?"

Naruto shrugged

"turns out it was an impossible dream. I'm not a member of Konoha."

"Not a member of... but... what?"

"Which reminds me, Hey Hinata! It's traditional for it to be a member of Konoha's founding families, so... You want to be the Konoha diplomat to Whirlpool?"

Hinata reddened slightly

"S.. Sure."

Danzo frowned at being Ignored and disrespected in such a manner in front of his council and the foreign dignitaries.

"ANBU! Seize the Jin..."

Naruto Broke in however.

"Can't. Diplomatic Immunity."

Danzo's ROOT nearly obeyed his command anyway, but the Regular ANBU quickly intervened, realizing the nightmare that could come from the Kiri and Kumo diplomats, who were watching the whole argument with an amused look. Both knew that the whirlpool village was still just a bunch of shattered remnants, but on paper, 'Uzumaki' Naruto was indeed the last lord of whirlpool. Though neither said it out loud, they both decided then an there that they'd rather see the boy try to raise the old village than let Danzo get what he wanted. The man's treachery and meddling was well known in both their nations, and had it not been for Jirayia's efforts, both would have long since declared war on the leaf just to try killing the old bastard.

"What makes you think it's still valid? There's nothing left of 'your' nation."

"it's in the Konoha charter. 'So long as even one recognized heir yet remains we will remain the stanchest allies. Two cities. One people' Something like that."

"Then I refuse to recognize you as the child of Uzumaki Kushina."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"As it's a documented and public fact I'm afraid I'm forced to ask our visiting Diplomats to be the impartial judges. Gentlemen?"

Danzo Stewed as the Kiri Diplomat replied immediately.

"We've long known who" _and __guessed __'what' _"Your mother was. Kiri recognizes your claim to the leadership of Whirlpool."

The Kumo diplomat eyed his counterpart with distaste. He didn't like agreeing with one of 'them' on anything, but...

"I'd like to verify the document for myself but our intelligence indicates the last leader is here somewhere yes. And you do have the right facial structure if not the right hair color."

"ANBU. I gave you an Order."

"Oh dear."

everyone turned to look at Hinata who immediately blushed.

"You've read it too then?"

everyone's head turned back to Naruto.

"Read what?"

Something was tickling the back of Danzo's mind. There was a reason he'd kept out the Whirlpool survivors, what was it now...

"I'm afraid that with the violation of one of your founding precepts I'm going to have to declare Konoha as seized by a rebel faction."

"ANBU!"

Danzo froze The Brat was now being protected by one of Kumo's guards, and the ROOT member that had tried to kill him was unconscious and bleeding heavily on the floor. Moreover one of the Kiri Swordsmen now had a blade resting lightly under his chin.

"I don't believe we can let you do that."

Their animosity set aside for the moment both the Kiri and Kumo delegates considered the scene in front of them. Both had already set off their 'immediate recall' signals to their subordinates. It would be less than a minute before their entire contingents would be storming the tower.

"By naming us Impartial judges without contest from you. We have a duty to protect a fellow diplomat. Unlike you, we will not be violating treaties today."

Naruto nodded at the two of them.

"Thank you. Now. As the official diplomat to Whirlpool I'm afraid I need you to witness this Hinata."

Hinata nodded.

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, Watcher over the waves and all assorted titles and privileges declare Konoha to have been seized by a hostile force. I declare them to be in rebellion against their rightful ruler, Senju Tsunade."

Tsunade's eyes twinkled. She hadn't seen this coming when the council voted her out, but she had to admit that it was worth it.

"ANBU, stand down in your positions against the watcher. Control and contain the traitor Danzo."

Naturally ROOT immediately surrounded and protected their leader who was glaring daggers at both Tsunade, the loyal ANBU who obeyed her, and the foreign Diplomats.

"You can't do that."

Naruto grinned at him.

"I can and did. It's in the Precepts. Furthermore, as I have both a legitimate government and a Konoha diplomat assigned to my nation..."

Both the Kumo and Kiri diplomats glanced at Tsunade who nodded her acceptance of Hinata.

"... It is my sad duty to inform you that you have been declared a A-ranked Missing Nin for your active sabotage of the orders and principals laid down by Saratobi Hizeran."

Tsunade broke in a poorly made look of shock on her face as she tried to fight a huge grin.

"He did what?"

Naruto nodded

"His actions today in attempting first to banish, then execute a loyal member of Whirlpool village are abhorrent. He has turned away refugee's during a time of war after a particularly brutal attack on whirlpool village it's self, and has been defying the third's order to disband and cease all operations of ROOT since the order was issued."

"You have no Proof!"

"But I do."

all eyes turned to the newcomer, and many widened in shock

"Uchiha..." Breathed the Kiri Diplomat

"... Itachi" finished his Kumo counterpart

The ANBU around Tsunade shifted in agitation. they had standing orders from the third to capture him if possible but that they weren't to use lethal force. His appearance here, and with nobody sensing him come in... it was a blow to their pride.

"Itachi-kun You have them then?"

"Indeed Naruto-Sama."

Eyebrows shot up and eyes darted from one to the other several times before finally settling on forehead protector adorning Itachi's arm... Whirlpool. Both the Kiri and Kumo diplomats frowned. They'd thought they were just having a bit of fun at Konoha's expense. Not that the boy had any real power backing him.

"I protest! He's been a missing nin for years!"

"That's somewhat amusing coming from you."

sniped Tsunade

"Especially as I was acting under orders from you and the council when my family died."

Most eyes turned back to him in shock.

"Again, No proof." Snarled Danzo his fingers twitching as he tried activating the seal he had placed on the boy to keep him quiet all those years ago.

Itachi smiled. It wasn't pretty. Alligators smiled like that... Sharks smiled like that.

"By coincidence, I do. Both an audio recording of you issuing the orders, and the written copy I insisted on that you treated to react as flash paper. I rather expected this betrayal actually, and so had a neutralizing agent prepared before I retrieved it from you that night. Additionally I'm afraid that your base below the city has suffered a recent break-in"

Naruto smiled, his smile wasn't very pleasant either.

"How recent Itachi-kun?"

"I just finished it Naruto-Sama"

"Lies! He's Been setting me up!"

"Did I set up the nearly forty Ninja whose seals of silence have just been removed?"

Tsunade's face was stoney at the news, Danzo's was Pale

"Ibiki was rather annoyed that I dropped them off and left, but no doubt he's started interviewing and deprogramming by now."

"Naruto."

Tsunade's voice was flat and held a undertone of anger.

"Why is it that Itachi is working for you?"

"Amnesty. As an associated village head he came to me and told me his story. It's how I found out I was being illegally kicked out actually. I made him a member of my village provisional on his finding proof other than the chemically treated orders that he mentioned earlier."

Tsunade turned back to the Uchiha

"and did you?"

Itachi nodded

"A number of diaries were retrieved including his personal 'Black book'. I have surely earned my damnation with the stain on my soul left by his orders, but compared to the other atrocities he has ordered and committed, I am spotless."

Danzo was now nearing purple with rage, and as the bodyguards for the Kiri and Kumo delegations burst into the room, he whipped off his shirt revealing that his 'missing' arm had been replaced. There was a moment of shocked and disgusted silence as the eyes of the Uchiha stared out at the room.

"I see."

Danzo whipped around his head wrap coming undone, and locked eyes with Itachi. A second later he collapsed and Naruto handed his Vassal a handkerchief to dab at the blood dripping from his eyes.

"Danzo-Sama!"

Reacting as one, ROOT Grabbed Danzo and tried to escape, only to find themselves firmly anchored to the floor, vines holding them in place. Panting as though she had just run a mile carrying a small mountain on her back, Tsunade straightened up again.

"Not... Escaping... this... time."

It was a legend come to life indeed, and both of the visiting diplomats knew they would have some lengthy reports to write up about the entire evening.

"Well that was fun..."

At Naruto's sarcasm Tsunade Hummed slightly, the corner of her mouth turning up just a tad.

"Are you quite done Naruto-sama?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the title as he turned to answer Tsunade's question.

"No. The Hokage's council is suspended pending a full investigation into how deep Danzo's corruption ran. Outside of that. Yes, I'm done. Your city is your own again Tsunade-Sama."

and that was that. Nodding respectfully, the two foreign diplomats gathered their respective entourage and went back to their assigned embassies leaving Naruto, Tsunade, and Hinata to decide what would happen next.

* * *

An:

I really _REALLY _want to continue this story, but to be frank this is the only part I could get out. I have no Idea what lead up to it, I have no Idea what happens next. I got a bit Drunk and my muse swung by and started dictating without any of the usual buildup or cool down. She was there, I was writing, she was gone. End of the story.

As usual, Love it, Hate it, or just want to make snarky remarks at me, feel free to hit the 'Review' button below. If you'd like to adopt this piece feel free, all I ask is that you send me a link to it (Which I will post here: _ )

Catch ya'll later!

Manatheron


	13. Long Road Home

A/N: I've got this Idea for a Firefly/Harry Potter/Naruto Cross. Problem is that I don't feel I can write the crew of the 'Serenity' Well enough to pull it off. I'll probably work on this more at a later date, so let's call this a teaser...

-o.0-

Harry Grinned as he pulled the stethoscope away from the safe and pulled the handle disengaging the locks and, with a mild grunt he opened the door to find... A drawing of fox?

"What the hell..."

There was a slight hissing noise, as the Magnetic trigger he'd tripped by fully opening the door released a fast acting poison aerosol into the air.

"Fuck"

There was a sharp 'Crack' sound, and a minute later the aerosol's hiss finally stopped sounding in the empty room, again leaving the derelict transport as quiet and empty as it had been since three weeks Prior when the life support failed and the settlers had abandon ship.

-0.o-

Naruto Grinned to himself as he bent around the last of the ACDU (Air Current Detection Units) his natural control of the wind element making bypassing these usually incredibly tricky and sensitive devices as simple as walking through the room. Now all he had to do was get his hands on the Lassitar and get out. The swap was childs play, and that alone range alarm bells in his head. It wasn't until he was back on his ship however that he noticed the words 'Genuine Fake' with a lightning bolt etched behind it.

"That son of a bitch."

It was the first time he'd spoken since he got his hands on it, therefore he was a bit surprised when it replied: "Vocal disturbance detected. Initiating response protocol." Had he been even a moment slower with the Kawarimi the device's explosion could well have killed him. Thankfully the quick switch skill was one he didn't need seals to use, and it wasn't big enough to do more than rattle the other Merchandise in his hold.

"Fifth time this year. I'm going to have to do something about this guy"

-0.o-

Harry grinned and knocked back his drink as he eyed the women entering the bar across the way from him. Santo was a bit rough and tumble, and unlike nearby Persephone it occasionally had issue's with slavers, but he much prefered it to the Snobs that ran it's richer neighbor. Not likely to get into any so-called 'Honor duels' to the death here.

Sighing he flagged down the waitress and ordered another drink. Business before pleasure after all.

"Alright Tam. You called for this meeting, what do you want?"

Reginald Tam ran a hand through his thinning hair before replying.

"You have a reputation as a man who can... find things... I need help."

Harry Shrugged and took another drink

"I'm listening I suppose."

"I made a mistake and it cost me my son and daughter. I've tracked my son this far, but the trail goes utterly cold on Persephone. As to my daughter..."

Harry noted the grimace that crossed the older mans face.

"She was enrolled in a program that was not what it appeared to be. She tried to call for help, and only my son believed her. Either he broke her out, or she's dead, because the government is insisting there was never a program with any such name, and apparently she's been listed as a runaway since shortly after we shipped her off four years ago. I could get information on both the school and my daughter until two months ago when everything just..."

He trailed off and Harry didn't need legimacy to read the conflict and frusteration on the mans face.

"Please. My wife and I are well off. Whatever it costs we'll pay it, Just please. Find our children for us."

Harry sighed. It wasn't the first heartfelt plea he'd heard for this type of thing, and it still tugged at him even though he tried to ignore it.

"I make no promises Mr. Tam, but I'll look into it. What do you want me to do if I find them?"

Reginald leaned back, the relief clear on his face.

"Tell them I'm sorry and that we miss them. Tell my son that I made a mistake and that if he can find it in his heart to call me I'd like a chance to appologise to his face. He'll know how to get a hold of me."

"Very well. I'll see what I can do. Have a good evening Mr. Tam."

"Thank you Mr. Potter. I'll try."

-0.o-

Naruto rubbed his chin as he looked over the files that Fess Higgons had sent him. With the death of the man's father, control of the Canton Mud fields had fallen into his hands. The changes the young man made had not been immediate, but they did have the effect of a slowly raising morale, and a rapidly rising production of the sought-after ceramics that would probably have left an average man reeling. Fess however had taken it in stride and used it to further motivate his workers and increase his bottom line. It had been over a year since the elder Higgons death, and this was the first time the lad had taken time to contact him for something that wasn't strictly business. Though from a certain standpoint it could have been that too.

"So... this 'Jayne' guy... what exactly do you want me to do?"

"I... it's not just Jayne. There's a companion he's sharing ship with. Inara Sierra."

"Ahh... stole your girl."

Jealousy he could understand. He'd still turn down the contract, but he could understand it.

"NO! Well... I don't think so anyway."

"Oh? Then why do you care?"

"You've seen the statue?"

Naruto snorted

"Bit hard to miss really"

"Do you know how he got it?"

"Regular Robin Hood right?"

"Who?"

"Never mind. Stole a bunch of cash and gave it to the poor people."

"Right. He never explained why, he's only come back once, and that one time he tipped the statue over and proclaimed he was no hero. That hero's didn't exist..."

Naruto Quirked an eyebrow. It somewhat explained why the stupid thing was anchored into the ground at least.

"...anyway. The companion explained it all to me. How to be a man among men. How to hold your head up high and do the right thing regardless of what it costs you."

Naruto's other eyebrow joined the first, of all the things he was expecting to hear, THAT certainly wasn't it.

"It took me a long time to realize she was talking about more that just standing up to my father, and even then it wasn't until I realized that she was flying with the man they call Jayne that I was able to piece it together. She's like his prophet to the 'Verse you know? He speaks to the common man, she speaks to those who are foolish enough to ignore him under normal circumstances, and I just want to let them know that the message has been received loud and clear, and that they are welcome back at any time."

Naruto's eyebrows lowered, and a cocky grin split his face.

"I can't gaurentee that I can find a man like that, but If I do see... erm.. 'The Man they call Jayne' or his priestess. I'll be certain to pass along your message."

"Thank you, that's all I ask."

-o.0-

"So yer back are ya? Only mebbe I don't need yer help no more? Ya consider thet eh?"

Harry rolled his eyes slightly. He didn't exactly need the work, but life could get awfully boring without a job now and again, and he rather liked being on the wrong side of the law occasionally.

"Look badger. Wasn't my fault right? There was no way to know that the alliance would pick that Gorram day to change the shift schedule."

"_Zhen Dao Mei. _So you left my imager behind and made tracks?"

Harry smirked.

"Didn't say that. Just letting you know what a pain in the ass this thing was to get my hands on."

with a flourish and a slight of hand trick the 'Missing' Imager appeared in his hand.

"Well now. That changes things a tick dunnit?"

-0.o-


End file.
